Since launching Diotima last year, New York-based designer Rachel Scott (who also holds a senior position at Rachel Comey) has been carving out a special space in the market with ready-to-wear centered around her Jamaican roots.
For pre-fall, her third collection, the designer continued to nicely bridge intricate handcraft with femininity and modernist, sensual appeal. For instance, the collection’s crochet tops and dresses — like a mesh tank with charmeuse trim, worn with a large scale crochet elongated tank-dress-meets-skirt with all-over hand-embroidered crystals, or new renditions of her now-signature crochet web dresses and tank tops. To balance out the collection while infusing her heritage, the assortment is styled with myriad suiting (with a few “disrupting” details from architectural, crochet adornments) and polished-yet-relaxed daywear separates (trousers with shell-like knee pads, shirting and corsets, pleated skirts, and floral frocks). In addition, Scott collaborated with artist and photographer Nadia Huggins to create vivid Caribbean sea prints, splashed onto enticing fluid silk twill garments.
The collection continues to promote Scott’s brand message of celebrating her home culture and community, dance hall, and more through ample artisanal techniques and textures on intriguing silhouettes.