Jacquline Mason-Reid, a producer of Jadire, says “I have been praying for a long time because I am not a
person who is good at sales. I have been asking God to show me some marketing strategies and now an
avenue is open so I can sell my fabric.” She was speaking at the Jamaica Business Development
Corporation’s (JBDC) Incubator & Resource Centre (IRC), which came alive on Thursday June 15, at its
Jadire Buying Event. Each Jadire piece on display screamed Jamaican luxury…a fashion renaissance.
Through the JBDC’s Jadire Buying Event, 5 artisans who participated in the programme were given the
opportunity to present their fabric designs to potential buyers who received exclusive invitations to IRC.
Colin Porter, Technical Services Manager at JBDC, says this event is an opportunity to take Jadire to the
next level. “The Jadire Programme has been going on for quite a while now. So, the idea was to build the
technical and the business competency of the participants that were trained to bring them to a point of
commercialisation, meaning that they now get an opportunity to share their works with a range of
designers to see the offerings and to see the possibilities,” he explained.
The African inspired art coupled with Jamaican symbolism adds a new flare to Jamaican fashion. Robert
Hall, Fashion Expert at the JBDC said, “We really saw solutions that would now help to mark us apart and
if you think on another level of how does this resonate with the issue of identity as a black people in a time
like this. We had different designers doing from the suit to a ball gown type kind of evening dress
situation. Accessories such as jewellery and bags were on display. We saw a number of bags as well
too. It really speaks to a different kind of approach because bags are usually in muted colours, but today
we saw colours like the blues and yellows, etc.”
Andrew Azar, Managing Director of LP Azar, wholesalers of fabrics, garments and household merchandise,
was awed by the pieces on display, “When I arrived and I saw the quality of the products, I was very impressed.
The fabrics’ uniqueness and quality are just first world.”
He added that, “I think more people are going into the fashion industry away from the common printed fabric to
these unique one-of-a-kind items and I think that what they have taught at JBDC is invaluable.”
Andrew Azar, Managing Director of LP Azar, wholesalers of fabrics, garments and household merchandise,
was awed by the pieces on display, “When I arrived and I saw the quality of the products, I was very impressed.
The fabrics’ uniqueness and quality are just first world.”
He added that, “I think more people are going into the fashion industry away from the common printed fabric to
these unique one-of-a-kind items and I think that what they have taught at JBDC is invaluable.”
Through its fashion development programme and incubator, the JBDC is aiming to empower local designers in
the fashion and gift & craft sectors to revive local textile production at a sustainable and commercially viable
level for global markets.
The JBDC is an agency of the Ministry of Industry, Investment & Commerce (MIIC), which currently places a
heavy emphasis on export, particularly within the MSME sector.
