This is Rhea Imani, a resortwear label founded in 2014 by Jamaican designer, Rhea Gayle.
To me, Rhea Imani’s pieces feel like a celebration of the woman. The way she weaves the idea of the multi-faceted, multi-dimensional, “every woman” into her design narrative is a triumph of femininity, comfortable glamour, and sunshine-y personal style. Bodies are veiled in lightweight cotton co-ords that drape and hang lazily, while tiered mini skirts swell below nipped waists. Fabric flutters at the sides of high-waisted trousers and petalled bralettes accompany sweeping maxi skirts. Bouncing from the risque to the refined, then from the casual to the camp, the label maintains this kind of poppy, elegant approach to resortwear.
I love how Rhea Imani seems to be a label perfectly at play. Traditional elements are exaggerated. Extra-large ruffles serve as the hemline for short shorts. Soft frills float atop another bralette before filtering down into pants as a wavy peplum. Then there are sexy cutouts and mummified gowns.
With showrooms in both Negril and Kingston, Rhea Imani brings buttery cowl necks, exuberant printed sets, billowy sleeves, and mesh maxi dresses and offers them up as elegantly casual fare. While layered with captivating references to the chic island woman, the label doesn’t necessarily lean too heavily into the cartoonish tropes of ‘island style’. Design and dressmaking runs in the family, and even without formal training, Rhea turned her creative urges – the family heirloom, if you will – into a formidable brand that sought to continue this legacy.
