Donna Ramsammy-James’ 2022 collection Chrysalis, debuted on Sunday last in an array of colours and culture reflecting the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa.
Donna’s description of Chrysalis as shared by the host of the event read in part, “…created and selectively marketed, an exclusive line of elegant ladies and men’s wear, designed to express the softness of Asia, the depth of Africa and the colour of the Caribbean. The common thread running through Donna’s annual collections is the Shape 2000 tradition of ethnic fusion, of art through fashion, traditional cultural style, dress, motives and notions…”
The designer, who has spent years living in the Caribbean and Africa and travelling them both, has over the years created collections infused with these cultures.
Chrysalis consisted of 72 designs, all of which were displayed by models in a cleverly choreographed show that included dances along with the timeless catwalk strut. Each piece was accentuated with a matching face mask, which added to its flair.
The collection, which was displayed in colour sequences, ended with hues of reds highlighted by some blacks.
This is the second time that Shape 2000 collection models wore face masks. Last year’s fashion show was dubbed ‘Behind the Masks’; although it was completely virtual. This year however, Donna was able to entertain a live audience, but it was required ahead of time that everyone attending be vaccinated and provide proof of their vaccination certificate weeks before the launch. The audience, the models, media representatives and of course Donna herself were all fully inoculated. Even so, they were all required to wear face masks which they did. However, unlike her usual 100 in attendance, as was the case prior to the pandemic, the event only catered for 35 attendees this year.
Asked how it was that the name for the collection came about, Donna said, “At the time, I was thinking and thinking about things emerging. I feel we are emerging from the pandemic; it’s not as dark as it was. The paintings (on the pieces) were very different this year because we concentrated on all living things, on animals, birds, fish and leaves, everything living…”
Despite there being fewer pieces than usual to show, the event lasted the same 42 minutes as fewer models were allowed on the catwalk at the same time to allow for social distancing.
According to the designer, when July came around this year, she was still unsure whether she would be able to launch a collection. Her main source for fabric and paint is Trinidad and she would usually travel to pick up her materials, but because that country’s borders were still closed, she could not be sure whether the event would happen.
She then decided to make a longer and more expensive trip, heading to Florida to purchase her materials. And, while the materials were procured last minute, the concept of a collection takes an average of about six months to plan, Donna explained.
The Chrysalis designs are impeccable and Donna pointed out that the beautiful thing about this collection is that it is custom created so anyone is free to request that she add to the design, do it in another colour or have the size tailored for them.
The launch of the event, which was aired live on social media, generated positive responses from viewers. It is available for viewing on the Shape Custom Creationz Facebook page.
