Beyond the Trope: Jamaican Designer Rachel Scott of Diotima Is Crafting New Narratives
Yes, Jamaica has sandy beaches and weed. What's next?
I’ve always found it ironic that New York Fashion Week takes place during Black History Month but is often a glaring reminder of the lack of diversity within the industry. Although it is getting better— runways are becoming more diverse and there are more Black designers on the official schedule than ever — there is still room for major improvement.
This season, two Black women are unveiling new collections: Rachel Scott of Diotima and Tia Adeola. Both have developed unique ways of transforming their diasporic worldviews into sensual and exciting bodies of work (the designers hail from Jamaica and Nigeria, respectively) while maintaining wearability.
In honor of Black History Month and New York Fashion Week, these designers will be the focal point of my next two posts (let’s be honest, I was going to do that anyway, LOL). Kicking us off this week is Diotima, the luxury brand that’s destroying tropes and examining what it really means to be a Jamaican.
Diotima
I’ve had a quiet obsession with Diotima by Rachel Scott since her Pre-Fall 2022 collection. Shot entirely in Jamaica, she presented crystal-encrusted crochet dresses, striped twill pants paired with golden, open-knit marinas, and a glossy black suit, the leg of which was intercut with an oversized, crochet doily.
As one of the few Jamaican designers in the luxury fashion space, Scott quickly realized that she had a certain responsibility to unravel the nuances and complexities of her small, but culturally humongous island.
Historically, when Jamaican culture is referenced in fashion, it’s boiled down to Rastafarian colors (red, gold, and green) and mesh marinas (see: John Galliano’s Rasta collection for Dior). Diotima chooses to explore deeper, drawing references from rituals rooted in African spiritualism, dancehall culture, and post-colonial milieu.
Mecca James-Williams, a culture editor and multidisciplinary creative, put it best when she said that Scott “...speak[s] to the whispers of Jamaica and not the yells.” A perfect analogy for her Spring/Summer 2024 collection, Nine-Night, which reflected on the “history and legacy” of slavery in Jamaica.
Scott collaborated with legendary Jamaican artist, Laura Facey, who sculpted mini versions of the wooden hearts featured in her Laboratory of The Ticking Hearts Exhibition. The anatomical life givers were then attached to long chains and placed around the necks and waists of models, representing lives lost to slavery and other atrocities.
The term “nine-night” refers to a celebration of life that occurs when a loved one transitions. Friends and family gather at someone’s home (or yaad) for nine nights until the loved one’s burial. This celebration is rooted in African spirituality, and its implantation in Jamaican culture is only made possible through the savage pillaging of The Continent and subsequent slave trade.
By highlighting these rituals, Scott acknowledges a painful history while revering its byproduct (tradition and culture, not colonialism, tribalism, etc.). This is a dichotomy that all within the African diaspora must reckon with, and it’s a heavy subject for a fashion collection. When topics like this are broached, there is a risk that it can come across as clumsy or irresponsible (see: almost anything from Tremaine Emory) but Scott makes it work, building a design language that’s equal parts sensual and transhistorical, which led the Council of Fashion Designers of America to crown her the Womenswear Designer of the Year.
Scott’s most recognizable motif is a crochet doily, that can be seen cleaved into the waist of a blazer or trimming the leg of a tailored pant. Perhaps her most popular items are a series of delicate dresses and tops crafted by sewing together multiple large doilies. (Solange famously posted a picture in a doily dress from Scott’s Pre-Fall 2023 collection.) These doilies are hand-made by a small group of women artisans in the St. Mary Parish of Jamaica. In some parts of the island, the doily crochet method is passed down through the family matriarch (Scott admits this custom skipped her, as it did me—though my grandmother tried, bless her heart).
Its inclusion in the design lexicon of Diotima adds a layer of cultural and generational tradition to each garment, subtle enough to allow for universal appeal. This is a tightrope that few designers can walk, but Scott balances it well.
Rachel Scott is set to unveil her Fall/Winter 2025 offering on Monday, February 10. No doubt, it will be another well-thought-out foray into heritage with a cheeky side of casual sultriness, which we’ve come to expect from her. What I’m excited to see is how she chooses to expand the world of Diotima.
Her Spring/Summer 2025 collection, entitled Deja Vu, saw the addition of golden paillettes (symbolic of oyster shells from Hellshire, a beach in Jamaica) that clambered up the hemline of a dress to a strategically placed porthole, fresh linen and black denim intercut with broderie anglaise, and a gracefully draped Japanese jersey dress with a doily applique extending from hip to mid-calf.
One thing is certain: whatever Scott presents, her clients and stockists will be eager to support. Amidst a luxury downturn, Diotima’s sales are up 25% from the previous season (as of Q4 2024). It’s becoming more apparent that what people want from brands are real stories, rooted in culture (check out my post from last week about Willy Chavarria, who made a splash at Paris Fashion Week). Emotional luxury that’s suited for everyday wear — who knew?