+18Theophilio’s SS21 “Migration” is a fusion of nostalgia and rich presence
Theophilio founder and designer Edvin Thompson released his Spring/Summer 2021 collection video called “Migration.” The entire line is bridging two worlds and cultures as the designer is a Brooklyn-based Jamaican. Thompson and his team that he calls his “design family” states that the unisex brand’s purpose is to promote and uplift voices of immigrants like themselves. They do just that with his new collection video.
The video features an all Black cast, vibrant blue skies, green, citron — fresh, summery tones that are in place to pay homage to Thompson’s Jamaican roots. The models appear to float over a techno Afrobeat down Dawkins Drive in Portmore, St. Catherine, Jamaica. There are strong elements of both androgynous and the feminine. Exaggerated sleeves on a neon yellow top, some fringe, neon hair, all make the video a great spectacle to watch. The inclusivity and creativity in this collection video is incredible as the designer really shows us his passion and personality through his pieces.
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Community is really important to the designer hence his team being called his “design family” in a statement he made about his current collection he reveals that he worked alongside the “same models, videographers and photographers from my first collection and even from [his] other home in Atlanta.” Thompson says that he parties, protests, and lives with his consumers another indication that he values community over anything.
Despite COVID-19 shutting down many creative processes that designers and their teams would usually go through for fashion weeks, Theophilio creates an essence and nuance of blackness and immigration that is multidimensional and really quite beautiful.
Thompson started his fashion journey in his freshman year of high school and has since kept his culture one of the main focal points in his creations because he wants to continually amplify the voices that don’t usually get the time to be heard.
Images Courtesy of CFDA Runway 360.
