Rachel Scott’s Diotima has firmly planted itself in the lexicon of the crowded New York City fashion market. Significantly, the designer who is based in Brooklyn has been sharing thoughtfully made knits and hotpants which have separated her from the abyss of creators based in NYC since 2021. Her Spring/Summer 2014 presentation gave off cocktail hour energy, Rachel floated amongst models, friends, and editors—there were also drinks that onlookers partook in while viewing the collection.
“This collection started as a collaboration with a Jamaican artist, Laura Facey, and that’s her work that’s installed in the space,” Scott said. “She also made the heart necklaces and the print kaftans. Her work explores the ongoing legacy of colonialism and slavery,” the designer adds.
“Nine-Night,” the name of the collection is a funeral tradition practiced in Caribbean countries, and was also a driving force of inspiration behind the new collection. According to show notes, in Trinidad, Jamaica (Scott’s home country), Haiti, and Guyana, the ceremony is an extended wake that lasts for several days; it has roots in African religious tradition. For those who practice, Nine-Night is an important moment for many as it is necessary for deceased spirits or “duppys” to move on and enter their graves.
Scott says she is always aiming to expand the idea of what the Caribbean is in her work. “I think that we’re often shown in this exoticized, very simplistic way.” She’s subverted that this season again by creating whimsical knit separates in the form of elegant tops and skirts. The range also features office-ready suiting selects—there’s also an exquisite gown with knit detailing. Accessories arrive in the form of a maroon knitted hat which accompanies an experimental bolero-inspired piece.
“I’m always trying to show the complexities, show the tensions in garments, but also in how we’re presented,” Scott tells me.
Below take a look at snapshots from Diotima’s Spring/Summer 2024 presentation.
Images Courtesy of Bre Johnson