Culture Of Jamaican Culture

Sandra Murray

1520329

Jamaican Culture “Out of Many One People”

Introduction

African Fashion has a long tradition going back for centuries, African designs, especially within the Jamaican Culture has mainly been influenced by, firstly, the Spanish, followed by the English. Akan people were enslaved in Jamaica, but came with their cultural dress patterns, their food, their beliefs in symbols, and cultural economies which they implanted efficiently in the new residence. Part of the cultural systems evident in Jamaica today bear evidence of this transference as evidenced in the fashion industry of Jamaica. Therefore, fashion in Jamaica is a conglomerate of the ideas passed along by the Ghanaian people in Jamaica and the fashion trends they

Hands produced traditional attire worn in Jamaica. Women covered their shoulders with a headscarf wrapped around their head. The bright colours of fabrics that were in the whole range of Jamaican attire symbolised the Jamaican spirit and the beauty of the surroundings. Climate had a significant effect on the clothing of Jamaicans, as it was warm and humid. As a result, the clothes were light weighted with cotton-like fabric to favour the climatic changes. With the occupation by colonists, the Jamaican mode of clothing changed. The English caused the traditional fashion clothes to stray from the standard roots of Jamaican people. Rastafarian culture being influenced by western culture, incorporated colours such as red, gold and green in their style of clothing (Bolland

Understanding the beginning of the clothing trends in Jamaica opens up the knowledge available about the historical and cultural significance of the fashion industry to human life.

Their way of life has been altered not only in the fashion industry, but also on the other cultural aspects, which includes music, and Rastafarisiam. African countries are also gaining a sight to the world of fashion industry. Jamaica has not had an enormous burst into the major fashion industry, and as such many of its designers have been recognised in America. Designers in Jamaica are known to reflect a lot of their designs on their African heritage, in the use of their brightly coloured collections. When we look at Africa, in particular, there has been some advancement in the fashion world.

(Gbadamosi, 2016), When Michelle Obama wore a top by Nigerian designer Maki Oh during her Africa tour in 2013, it was assumed the world's eyes were finally on the continent as a serious contender for fashion's emerging markets (Gbadamosi 2016). I believe there is still a long way to go for the African Fashion industry to be accepted in its entirety, but as the shift in globalisation is continuing to affect the fashion industry. People need clothing that is timeless in design, classic and has an exceptional quality, one will hope that Africa will be given a fair pathway to showcase on an