Camouflage is hot for summer

The Parade area in downtown Kingston is always a good location to visit when checking the latest fashion trends in Jamaica.

With the entertainment fraternity ready to stage summer festivities including Reggae Sumfest, Dream Weekend, Best Weekend Ever and the just announced Chris Brown concert, people have started to recheck their wardrobes for the "fresh drop". When THE STAR team visited downtown Kingston, the streets were buzzing with vendors, customers and a few window shoppers despite the boiling sun. The roads were lined with stalls of clothes of different colours, materials and styles. However, according to vendors, camouflage is the trending fashion.

"Camouflage, Burberry, Coach, Polo shirt, dem joggers' type pants deh, a dem deh a wear. People still a buy sweater same way but most man want buy T-shirt and shorts," said a salesman at Pure fashion by Annie on Luke Lane. He stated that he has run out of camouflage shirts, but the pants range between $3,000 and $5,000. These pants come in different shades of camouflage, but also styles like joggers or cargo for men and could also be worn by women.

He explained that men like the cargo types more because they have many pockets and are floor length. Women are offered a wider variation of camouflage wear. From alluring laced dresses and bikinis to match the summer vibe, to shorts and skirts that can be transformed for the dancehall or reggae scene. Camouflage pants, skirts or shorts are mostly worn with solid coloured shirts and one can complete the fit with white or black Nike Air Force sneakers. Solid coloured shorts go with a camouflage shirt if one is considering the heat, but a denim jacket can be considered if it's a cool night.

Rudolph Mills, who sells male clothes and shoes on Pechon Street, said camouflage and loose jeans are selling.

"Everything America go fah, Jamaicans go fah. You can wear it wid red or solid colours. Jamaicans work after foreign people and foreign artistes. Yuh know deh artiste deh weh just tek up fashion and wear some chain pon him clothes and all of a sudden them gone sky high? A fi him trend a run di place. Everything dem want wear haffi branded and me have all type a brands," Mills said.

"The cheaper brand is weh somebody mek fi demself and put it pon the market, that a fi $3,000. But like a Zara is fi nine, 10 grand. Fi know di real brand yuh just haffi know somebody inna town weh you can come to," he added. Pharrell Williams is the hip-hop artiste and fashion icon to whom Mills is referring. Williams started his own fashion label, Billionaire Boys Club, that mixes street wear brands and enhances the look with icy jewellery.

Like Afrobeats star Burna Boy, popular local dancehall artistes like Popcaan, Aidonia and Dexta Daps are similarly sporting the cargo/loose pants trend.

Another vendor Michael Gilespie highlighted that trends continue to change.

"Every week di youth dem want something different. Today dem want Gucci, tomorrow dem want Gallery," Gilespie exclaimed.

Rondo Ellis, who operates out of the Pearnel Charles Arcade, showed THE STAR a must-have Crocs in army green that can replace sneakers to complete the camouflage joggers or pants. "See dem Crocs yah? A dem run the place. If you a touch road in the day when it hot but still want look fresh, dis dweet," he said.