Diotima Carefully Evolves Its DNA With Brighter Colors and Undone Silhouettes

Andrea Bossi

13 February 2024 at 2:56 pm·5-min read

Crafted between Jamaica and New York, Diotima is quickly scaling, the brand's crystal mesh and macramé now instantly recognizable. And after mixing funerary and dancehall traditions last season, designer Rachel Scott enters a deliciously bright new palette into its design language for Fall 2024.

"I felt like I needed it — I was very careful not to do that initially, because I felt like people expected it of someone Caribbean. But I felt like I made my points and can play with color," Scott told Fashionista at her presentation in New York City's Chelsea neighborhood on Monday.

Scott has made her points, evident by her 2023 CFDA award for Emerging Designer of the Year and being one of nine finalists of the 2023 LVMH Prize. That newfound freedom introduces sunflower yellow and bubblegum pink as star colors in the autumnal collection, the former highlighted in a dress with contrasting stripes across the body and the latter by a rosy fringed frock. The vivid standouts are balanced by softer neutrals true to Diotima's chromatic DNA, like coffee-bean browns, seashell whites and onyx.

"The thing I kept thinking about the whole development of the collection was moments of being undone, of coming undone," Scott explained. "I was thinking about the collection almost like a time scale of a film: It takes place over one day — it begins at 4 a.m. at a party where your eyes are a bit smudged, your hair is a bit messy and your clothes are coming undone."

This is why, Scott continued, there's crochet cascading down the body asymmetrically and fringes along the seams of skirts. Caftan-like pieces reflect a sense of ease, while tailored suiting represents Diotima's woman at work. Completing the fantasy are the metallic party-ready pieces, both beaded and bedazzled. The signature macramés are now "becoming explosions," per Scott.

"I wanted to think about all the complexities of the woman at the moment, [seeing her] very buttoned-up and uptight during the day then back into the night — especially a Jamaican woman," she said. "There are all these ideas of who we are, but who are we in the world, not at the beach and not at the party? So many things. I wanted to have that complexity and fullness in the collection."

She was also inspired by several films, including the 1997 movie "Dancehall Queen" by Rick Elgood and Don Letts. "I kept watching it on the subway over and over," Scott noted.

As the brand has developed and gained industry accolades, Diotima has wooed a number of high-profile stockists, including Bergdorf Goodman, Frwd, Moda Operandi, among others. But Scott's remaining "very, very careful" about growth, she said: "I'm not just spreading [Diotima] everywhere. The craft is the foundation, so I have to be very mindful about how quickly I'm expanding and about making sure I have the resources to support that."

With a second New York Fashion Week presentation now under her belt, Scott continues to seize the complete richness of her Jamaican identity and confidently evolve Diotima's aesthetic without losing its soulful essence. It's fair to say the industry is watching to see what comes next. A runway show, perhaps?

Keep scrolling to see every look from Diotima's Fall 2024 collection.