N.A.T.T.Y Garments Gears up for New York

Along with Labor Day and the West Indian Day parade, N.A.T.T.Y. Garments is coming to New York. This year's Labor Day carnival will mark the clothing company's first major event in New York. The N.A.T.T.Y Garments crew has confirmed they will have vendors and a marketing team present for the festivities in Brooklyn. CEO and founder Jeff Jeff Burroughs stated the team is very excited about their New York debut. In the days leading up to the parade the design team plans to create new garments everyday. Burroughs says they not only plans to showcase the quality of the company's product but also bring a positive message. For the news on N.A.T.T.Y Garments and the location of their booth please return to www.iLandEye.com in the days to come.

N.A.T.T.Y. Garments

When hearing "natty" people automatically imagine dreadlocks. Jeff Burroughs, a native of St. Croix and the CEO and founder of  N.A.T.T.Y Garments has dreamed of creating a brand that welcomed everyone to enjoy life. N.A.T.T.Y.  creatively means Natural And True To Yourself. This unique brand represents feeling good about one's self regardless of what others think. The brand encourages everyone to "always believe their self, never give up and look fly doing it". 

 After  relocating to Virginia (U.S.) and overcoming several obstacles, Burroughs' vision came into play when he purchased a screen-printing shop in 1998. With a great name, positive mission and now the means of production, N.A.T.T.Y. was born.  Over the years N.A.T.T.Y. has gained strong support from the public. The brand has been worn by entertainers such as Beenie Man, Ras Attitude, Lady Saw, Baby Cham, Collie Buddz and many more. It has been well represented by people from all walks of life, not just West Indians. It has even been seen on MTV.

N.A.T.T.Y. has a strong presence at reggae festivals, events, and carnivals. Staying true to its roots, the company attends the Annual Agri-Fest in February on St. Croix where they show their love for the V.I. by selling N.A.T.T.Y at discount prices. Burrouhs explains, “It's always a blessed feeling was amazing to know that my  people love and respect N.A.T.T.Y Garments.”

The N.A.T.T.Y. Brand consist of a women's / junior's line and a men's line. Soon the company will introduce its children's line ranging from 0-3 months to youth L.

Uprize Clothing

  Uprize was founded by Richard Myrie. The inspiration for the clothing line and their slogan, "Wear the Revolution!” comes from recent reggae explosion around the world. The popularity of dancehall and uplifting reggae music is visible in Myrie’s clothing designs. Just as Bob Marley’s music inspired freedom fighters in Africa, Myrie’s designs are positive and uplifting. Bob Marley's music effected change in Zimbabwe and Uprize will create a fashion revolution.

Uprize has endorsements from reggae and soca artists such as Kevin Lyttle and Calibe. In 2005 Uprize sponsored 5th Element’s U.S. Tour. The line has become very successful by creating quality items and they continue to do so.

Cooyah (clothing company)

Today Cooyah is one of the most recognized Caribbean brands but it wasn’t always like that. Cooyah was founded by Homer Bair and Susan Kreitman in 1987. One would believe that the clothing line inspired by Reggae, Roots and Rastafarian culture would have an easy time catching on but it wasn’t the case.

The company began printing shirts in New York City for several American companies such as Def Jam and HBO. Keeping his Jamaican up-bringing in mind, Homer set out to design clothing that reflected Caribbean culture. Cooyah faced many challenges in the extremely competitive fashion industry. Initially the Caribbean community did not accept Cooyah because they preferred purchasing American clothing brands.

Cooyah relocated to Florida where they were better embraced and their popularity began to grow. After becoming a registered trademark company in 1996, Cooyah shifted their focus to the Caribbean. On their road to success, Cooyah had to over come losing their South Beach outlet to fire and two other locations on the island of St. Martin to Hurricane Louise. Since then, the brand has secured a number of endorsements from major events such as International Reggae Day, the annual Tru-Juice Rebel Salute and Caribbean Fashion Week. Cooyah has had models represent them on runways in the Caribbean, North America, Europe and Asia.