‘I‘d climb a mango tree and embroider up there for hours,’ says Kingston, Jamaica-born Rachel Scott, describing her favourite pastime growing up. The founder of emerging brand Diotima attributes her love of fashion to her mother – ‘She had a boutique named Gaychel’ – but it was her own aptitude for making that provided her with a gateway into the industry. ‘As a teenager, I’d sew myself the tiniest skirts and shorts,’ Scott says. ‘Style is part and parcel of growing up in Jamaica.’
This year – just shy of Diotima’s third anniversary – the brand is one of the semi-finalists for the prestigious LVMH Prize, and has already won fans including singer Ari Lennox, ELLE cover star Letitia Wright and tastemaker Marjon Carlos.
The label celebrates Scott’s heritage: the same craft she experimented with as a teenager is now a hallmark of the brand (the name derives from her love of philosophy; the original Diotima was a priestess in Plato’s Symposium). Defined by crochet that is entirely produced in Jamaica, Scott’s work is thought-provoking and intricate – think seductive cut-outs, backless designs and embellished separates – and amplified by delicate draping and impeccable tailoring, which is handled in NYC’s Garment District. Her moodboard is filled with everything from images of Caribbean women in the 1800s to revolutionary dancehall figures such as Carlene Smith.
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In an attempt to dismantle the colonial gaze, Scott rarely shoots her pieces against predictable beach-side backdrops. Instead, she favours iconic landmarks for her campaign and lookbook imagery, such as the National Gallery of Jamaica. ‘One of my models for that shoot was a trans woman named Emani Edwards,’ she says. ‘It appeared in a full-page spread in the Sunday edition of The Jamaica Gleaner. It felt like I could rekindle the spirit of radical creation.’
After moving to New York to study French and Art at Colgate University in the early 2000s, Scott headed to Milan to enrol at the Istituto Marangoni and worked at Costume National. Back in New York, she considered starting a brand, but had reservations. ‘There was little room [in fashion] for voices other than white, privileged ones. I thought, “There’s no space for me to do this.”’ But as the world changed in 2020, so did Scott’s stance. ‘I realised we need a multiplicity of expressions of what the Caribbean is,’ she says. On a previous trip home, she had struck up a relationship with the Bonnygate Women’s Group from Saint Mary on Jamaica’s north coast; their craft methods and use of doilies piqued her interest. When the pandemic brought the world to a standstill, she began working with the group and laying the groundwork for Diotima.
Fast forward to her Pre-Fall 2023 collection, inspired by River Mumma (a mythical mermaid in Jamaican folklore), which comprises draped cotton dresses and her signature crochet pieces. But Scott is already thinking about 2024. ‘I’ve gained confidence in my language,’ she says. ‘I feel excited to work on the next collection; I want to just do it all, but better and bolder.’
