Designer and Founder of Cooyah Homer Bair (left), Daddy Fras of Timeless Entertainment and FrasKrew (centre), and Gary Codner, marketing manager of Cooyah. - Contributed

Lack of marketing is one of the biggest problems for the Jamaican fashion industry. No one is going to want to buy the clothes if they have not seen them. Biggy says "there's lack of marketing. That's the next push, so that people can see it. Just like music it reaches out, it needs to move from Jamaican fashion beat to a London fashion beat and more".

McDermoth says one of the problems Uzuri has to contend with is that most people believe Jamaican fashion is merinos and swimsuits. "Uzuri does stuff for special occasions, couture. People don't realise that is done in Jamaica. People think that kind of fashion is only from France and Italy. We're just starting to get the word out there that we cater for them too. It's using unique techniques to bring out designs, different in a way but still showing the quality", McDermoth claims.

As such it is difficult to break into the foreign market, to achieve the popularity of a Gucci, Versace or Ralph Lauren. "People don't see us as a kind of fashion market. It's not developed overnight. It has not been promoted that way. We're not just a fashion of T-shirts and swimsuits. I don't think that we've broken much ground. There needs to be a greater marketing community in getting the brand out there. The brand is marketable, especially since the music is doing so well. Music is a part of brand Jamaica, so too fashion, movies and cuisine. We can take fashion out there and ride on culture," McDermoth said.

Fashion needs marketing

Ride on culture is what Cooyah has been doing and it is arguably one of the most well known brands around. Codner says "fashion needs marketing. There is room for improvement here. The access to products is increasing, designers are getting more and more developed in terms of material, quality, in terms of finishing as well". According to Codner, Cooyah is ahead of the game in overseas sales and marketing as the Cooyah brand has been growing, with North America being the major unconquered territory.

"What we need in Jamaica is a full fledged fashion industry. Designers have the ability to expand the level of their work, but they're not making the marketing effort. There need to be investment companies, more specialised companies for sales and other fashion spin-offs," Codner said.

- K.H.