This is SoKa, founded in 2014 by Vincentian designer, Karen de Freitas. When I first discovered SoKa, I wrote that she blends edgy cuts and dizzying prints in a racy, streetwear homage to Dancehall music.
This was about her thesis collection in 2014. The stand out piece was a midi sheath featuring a full-body print of Shabba Ranks and a dangerously sheer side panel.
Years later, SoKa has carved out a vibrant cultural nook – less smothered in the dancehall aesthetic, but still decidedly sultry. Her work feels like an ongoing meditation on respectability, with its sharp tailoring bobbing atop a swirling undercurrent of sensuality. One minute it’s giving a tutorial in elevated fete wear; the next, it wrangles with traditional silhouettes, adding fun, textured elements, oversized ruffles and chains of tiny pom-poms.
I love how SoKa clearly demonstrates a stunning level of technical ability. Every piece speaks to how style literate she is, and her storytelling approach to design is always tilting at Caribbean culture.
Of course there is a reasonable expectation of greatness from SoKa. Trained at the Parson School of Design, Karen de Freitas then apprenticed with Alice & Olivia, Zac Posen, Bibhu Mohapatra, and Yigal Azrouel. Her devotion to social justice generates grassroots projects and design partnerships with the country’s prisoners; while her passion and geeky attention to detail results in enthusiastic collaborations with artisans like Kraffiti’s Natasha Frankov and macrame artist Melanie Hyman.
SoKa’s sartorial rictus of revelry, folklore, and drama is a joyful, rambling ode to thrilling originality.