Janel's 'Jollies' for CFW 2010

25 May '10

4 min read

From making outfits for her dolls to stitching for life sized au courant clients, uber stylish designer Janel Jolly is the latest addition to the contingent of young talented garb makers who will make their premiere at the region's fashion and lifestyle event Caribbean Fashionweek 2010 this June 8-14 in Kingston, Jamaica.

Sure to 'whet' the appetite of every fashion aficionado, Janel's “Jae Jolly” collection is an inspired coordination of international pizzaz coupled with Caribbean couture.

25 year old Jolly has been sewing and stitching for years, taking cue from her mother who also sews, “My mother taught me how to sew and everything else just progressed from there. I started out making clothes for my Barbie dolls and then soon tried my hand at making outfits for myself. I got a lot of great feedback on the pieces I made and was soon commissioned to make outfits for other persons. The first sale piece I actually made was in 2008, a button up top with lots of beading, detailing and embellishment. The customer was very pleased with the end result and so was I. That piece heralded the official birth of my fashion label 'Jae Jolly' and since then, I haven't looked back…”

A former student of the Edna Manley School of Performing and Visual Arts where she studied fashion designing, Janel describes her inaugural CFW collection as glamorous yet rustic, “This will be my first major fashion presentation so it's important that the looks are just right. For my CFW debut, the pieces are garden inspired with a rustic twist, focusing on different shapes of flowers and plants and mixing various textures and prints. My pieces are feminine and they always carry a sense of edginess. There will also be lots of detailing as well as the mixing and combining different textures and fabrics as well as soft tones combined with metallics.” Also a fierce believer in the allure of accessories, Janel will also couple chic urban line with loads of complementary pieces, “Accessories can do so much for an outfit. A simple piece is transformed when you add the 'right' necklace or the 'right' earring' however my favourite accessory would definitely be handbags and clutches and I hope to showcase my own line of handmade clutches with my collection.”

Jolly, who appreciates the stylings of UK-Jamaican couturier Gavin Douglas, Roberto Cavalli, Emilio Pucci and Bottega Veneta also adds photographer to her multifaceted credits, a skill she says that credits for providing the inspiration for her fashion collections, “I've always been interested in pretty much all aspects of art and so pursued coursed in photography as well as fashion at Edna Manley. Photography captures moments that can last a life time especially on the subjects of nature and people which in turn give me inspiration for my designs and collections.”

Fashion followers can come out to see the Jae Jolly line at CFW 2010 as Janel makes her debut alongside Parisian Milkaya Laijah, Bahamian nouveau Phiona Ellis alongside established Caribbean and International favourites Meiling (Trinidad), Barry Moncrieffe (Jamaica), Sushma Patel (India), Gavin Douglas (UK), Catalin Botezatu (Romania) among others.

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