Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine July 2018 | Page 214
Isy Obi.
shared with Melange . .
About the beginning of her
designing journey
“ I would say my journey in design began
watching my mum work in her studio when I
was a kid, and my learning journey in design
has continued, from winning the coveted title
of Emerging Lifestyle Designer of the Year at
Phoenix Fashion Week, the first Caribbean brand
to do so, to selling my designs on a major home
shopping network in the USA, and representing
the Cayman Islands at Carifesta last summer.
About her brand
Isy B.’s design philosophy is that luxury must
be comfortable, and its mission is to design
beautiful garments for women who want to feel
as good as they look. Its effortlessly elegant
designs draw on the colours, laid-back luxury,
and the good life of the Caribbean, resulting in
our signature timeless pieces which are always
bursting with feel good factor.
About what designing and fashion
means to her
l love designing clothes and I view it as a way for
me as the designer and the woman who wears
Isy B. to collaborate in creating a visual image
of who she feels she is at any moment. Every
woman who wears Isy B. is unique and will wear
my pieces in their own unique way, I find that
inspiring and humbling at the same time.
About her last collection
I take much of my inspiration from the
Caribbean, from what lies below and above the
sea to cultural ideas and shared stories. The last
collection explored the myth of the Mermaid in
the Caribbean. It is believed that when Spanish
sailors discovered the Caribbean, they went
back home with tales of sea creatures, half
woman, half fish. The indigenous Caribbean
Taino people already knew the mermaid as
Aycayia, and then African slaves brought with
them their own tales of Mami Wata, beautiful
water-spirits and daughters of the sea. I love to
take unconventional ideas about the Caribbean
and translate them into my prints and clothing
silhouettes.
About her creative influences
My family was my greatest influence at the
beginning and they still are. I come from a family
with a wonderful ability to balance the creative
aspects of themselves with their more logical
side. For example, my mother was a fashion
designer, but she was also a PhD level scientist;
and my sister, Uju Obi, is a senior level legal
mediator, but she is also an award-winning glass
artist in London www.ujuobi.com. They spur me
on to believe in myself and encourage me to
dream big.
About who inspires her in the world of
fashion
I appreciate the creativity of all designers and the
innovation in each season's collections, but my
favourite designers share an aesthetic rooted in
elegance, femininity and simplicity of the line.
Designers like Carolina Herrera, Elie Saab and Roland
Mouret. My ultimate favourite is Ralph and Russo,
whose work elevates fashion to a level of beauty
and craftsmanship that can bring a tear to my eye
as it did recently when I visited their haute couture
atelier at Harrods in London.
About her next collection
I can’t say too much but I am so excited about the
next collection. More than anything it was created
in honour of women, and our relationship to beauty,
our relationship to ourselves, and how we express
ourselves through our clothing. It’s been a labour of
love and I look forward to sharing it later this year.
What she loves most about the Cayman
Islands
The People! The Cayman Islands brings together
a culturally varied mix of people from all over the
world. We live together on the tiny island, sharing
our different cultures and traditions with each other
peacefully, and with heart. There is even a phrase for
our unique way of being and the way we choose to
live in Cayman, it’s “Caymankind.”