Project Runway alumni Samantha Black AKA Sammy B takes us back to her roots with her ‘Kingston + 917’ Spring/Summer 2017 collection at the lower east side’s Sixty LES – Tiki Tabu on 9/11 during NY Fashion Week.
With long time supporters and fashion elites like Fashion Bomb Daily’s Claire Sulmers, NYC culture curator the Legendary Damon, model/dancer/actress Larsen Thompson, and fellow designer & PR alum Sonjia Williams in attendance, the occasion was a perfect setting to showcase such a presentation. The New York City skyline coupled with two separate installations of models dressed in Sammy B wear was just enough to draw the most perfect sunset.
This season, the designer stayed true-to-form with her heavy NYC influence, however infused her West Indian background of colors and detail to bring the collection to life. Styled by stylist Paige C. Graham and makeup done by LAMIK Beauty, each model was meticulously staged with the cultural bantu knots hairstyle to further encapsulate her (Sammy B’s) vision.
In the midst of all the lushness, I was able to grab a few words with the designer herself as she explained the collection as a mash-up of both her Jamaican heritage and her New York City upbringing.
So I’m Jamaican, for anyone who doesn’t know.
My culture plays a big part in who I am and how I design. Growing up, Jamaicans were the one’s going out in the winter time wearing nothing, and that’s what I grew up seeing; lots of color, rolling on the scene and being the scene.
My pieces are sometimes over the top, but this season I think I found a balance between a little over the top, but still comfortable and easy to wear.
This collection is called Kingston + 917, its inspired by my Jamaican culture and the culture of New York City. The reds represent Jamaica, and black & whites represent the streets of New York City. Black & white has been part of what I’ve been designing for years, it’s always been a staple in all of my collections.
But this collection is super personal because it so West Indian, even like the mesh marinas, the mesh tanks that a lot of West Indians wear, that is where it comes in. I wanted to add fun details like that, even the large sequins – it’s just exciting and everything is just so easy to wear.
I want women to look great, feel great and not be so confined. If you want to wear a tank underneath, you can. If you want to be sexy, be sexy. It’s pieces that you can make your own at the same time.”
With the likes of model Jessica White, singer Fantasia Barrino, Angela Simmons, Andra Day, Chloe & Halle, and so many others famously rocking her looks, you can find her S/S 2017 collection available for preorder in the weeks following on her site, as well as shop her previous season’s looks.
Following the presentation, to celebrate another New York Fashion Week well-done, a special #PynkPowerDinner was prepared in her honor with delicious tastings from Omar’s Kitchen.
The designer continues to shock us each season, I can’t wait to see what she drums up next.
