The Caribbean Fashions of Diotima
You wouldn’t think dancehall queens and a Caribbean carnival called Junkanoo would have much in common, but Diotima designer Rachel Scott has combined inspiration from the two concepts and created a unique collection of clothing. Scott launched her brand Diotima in May 2021, and her goal has been to lift up and highlight Jamaican crochet artists. The name, Diotima, comes from the Greek priestess who is the inventor of the Socratic method in Plato’s Symposium.
Pre-Spring 22
A key feature of the brand Diotima is the rich textures in the designs. From crocheted yarns to sleek leather, the designs are filled with visual interest. Another interesting inspiration that spills into Scott’s work is the school uniform from her days at a Jesuit institution in Kingston, Jamaica. Her Resort 2022 collection features tailored blazers and trousers amongst her intricate crochet patterns.
COURTESY OF DIOTIMA
Rachel Scott has really taken her label and used it to uplift others. She wants to ensure that her work with Caribbean artisans is a collaboration and not exploitation. Scott’s designs and brand are a celebration of her cultural identity and of Caribbean culture. In Jamaica, the craft of crochet has been a domestic tradition for generations, and Rachel Scott has found several women who are masters at this craft to bring her designs and ideas to life. Before starting her brand, Scott researched other Caribbean art forms. She learned about a couple different crafts including heartwood textile dyeing and Hardanger embroidery. Heartwood comes from logwood trees and when used to dye textiles, turns it into a purple-like hue. Hardanger embroidery entails creating white lacelike embroidery on white linen fabric. Diotima is rooted in Caribbean and Jamaican heritage.
COURTESY OF DIOTIMA
For Diotima’s Pre-Fall 2022 collection, designer Rachel Scott pushed herself even more into her unique craft forms. After her successful launch of honoring traditional Caribbean crafts in her first collection, she realized that she could play into that even more. Scott seamlessly blends an oversized suit with a fishnet-like crochet top. There really is no other designer with the same passions and inspirations as Scott which reflects in Diotima’s collections. Bringing in even more Caribbean influence, Scott teamed up with St. Vincent artist Nadia Huggins, who takes underwater photographs, to create a woven print of sand dollars, snakes, and sea urchins.
Culture and fashion have so long been so important to each other, and Rachel Scott takes this fact and runs with it. She allows her own cultural identity to drive and inspire her brand Diotima. Scott’s unique perspective and creations driven by her Caribbean and Jamaican roots has set her apart from the rest of the fashion world and made her brand the success that it is.