Femhéka designs hit the red carpet
Published:Sunday | March 16, 2014 | 12:00 AM
Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:On the biggest night in show business, while the leading men and women of Hollywood rocked the red carpet, Jamaican fashion designer Raxann Chin's Femhéka had a starring role at the 2014 Oscars.
Four of Chin's Femhéka gowns made their Oscar debut, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Dior, Alexander McQueen, Oscar de la Renta, Gucci and Lanvin, as executive film producers, Monique Pimentel, Juneta Ozolina, Kimberlee Manhken and Nadia Yanni of Swimming Wings Films strutted her designs.
Swimming Wings is a film production and distribution company that has produced over 22 films and, for Chin, it remains surreal. "I don't think it's hit me as yet. For some strange reason, it was a regular day in the House of Femhéka. I was watching the Oscars while draping a gown with this sense of calm knowing that she (Femhéka) belongs in that realm," she tells Outlook from her home in New York.
Immensely honoured to be on the same stage with some of the world's most acclaimed designers, she told Outlook that, most importantly, she was filled with pride that these women chose to bless her designs by wearing Femhéka on such a big day of their career. "It was truly validating. I dream big, and the Oscars have been in my dreams, I activated from the soul, and somehow it materialised."
The Femhéka slogan is: 'Awake. Live. Be a Magical Goddess'.
Pimentel wore the haute couture gown, the Belle Flower, priced at USD $15,000, which is a life-size replication of the Jamaican belle flower. Chin said she was visiting a friend's home while vacationing in Jamaica, and was captivated by the shape of the flower and decided she wanted to work on creating something special. "During the time, my best friend was undergoing breast-cancer treatment and I was drawn to the representation of the pink in the flower and wanted to honour her by creating this gown. Interestingly, when I started to research the flower, I learned it is one of the few flowers to thrive in alkaline soil, which is the same for cancer patients, they require alkalinity to survive."
Ozolina wore the haute couture gown Crowned Goddess, which was created during a magical moment. This gown, Chin explained, was conceptualised on the spot when she was pressed for time to meet a deadline. "I remember thinking how special this gown was when completed because I had a very different idea in mind at first. However, I'm a believer in following the flow of the universe. I remember thinking a goddess spoke to me and held my hand as I focused under a very tight pressure and just allowed the fabric to guide me on the dress form."
Mirrored from Ancient Rome
Manhken wore a signature couture two-piece gown and a gold-coiled accessory that can be worn several different ways. The burgundy gown is mirrored from Ancient Rome, with unexpected accents to highlight the draping. The fringed ends of the material add to its allure, with a single gold button as accent at the side of the gown.
Yanni wore the couture number that Chin is most proud of. "I made Yanni's dress with my own hands and it became the start of building my signature message. This couture item is the short version to the long burgundy gown and is coiled at the shoulder with intricate draping details. This dress can be worn with or without a belt, it also has the fringed edges for added accent," she said.
But how did these women find out about this amazing self-taught Jamaican designer? Femhéka, Chin said, was a corporate sponsor for the Cinerockom International Film Festival awards ceremony in the Beverly Hills Hilton hotel in California, to acknowledge achievements in film. "Louis Gossett Jr received the lifetime achievement award, and personally told me that he was impressed with the Femhéka showcase at the event."
The fashion show was watched by a Hollywood crowd of notable actors, directors, and film producers, and received an astounding response, which led to a phone call during Oscar Week to style for the Oscars.
This was Femhéka's first time at the Academy Awards. Femhéka will be two years old on May 11.
"She truly worked her magic to have appeared on such a global stage in the stated time. I pray the muses grant us favour for future Oscars," she said.
Climbing off the corporate ladder into the realm of designing, Chin said she was at the height of her career in an executive programme at Merrill Lynch when Bank of America bought the company. Chin had spent 10 years on Wall Street.
"The programme got dismantled and I was one of the lucky ones out of nine given a choice to take a package or switch to the sales team, because I had maintained my securities licence."
Took the leap of faith
The former Mount Alvernia High School student, who studied at the Montego Bay Community College and Wayne State University in Michigan, said, despite the fear of the unknown, she went with her gut feeling and took the leap of faith to pursue a deep-seated dream.
"There was something unsettling seeing accomplished professionals packing their boxes daily, and I no longer wanted to be a number just waiting. So I closed my eyes in a corner and prayed, and when I got up, there was nothing else I could do but respectfully decline the offer to stay," she reminisced.
When naming the brand, she sought advice from mythology. Heka was the Egyptian God of Magic, and was thought to be the start of the cosmic, before duality came into being. Heka was considered the magic to human existence. Feminine, was abbreviated to modify the word, hence Femhéka. Therefore, Femhéka translates to the 'feminine magical goddess'.
"I coined the name after several attempts to get it right. I needed something with purpose. Femhéka is not just about the clothing, it's about a philosophy, a lifestyle, that serves humanity and enriches our spirit," she said.
It was during her first job as an entertainment coordinator at Sandals Montego Bay that she first dabbled in designing by wrapping togas for the weekly Toga Night events. "This came to be my saving grace at the infancy of draping my designs. One of my pieces in the collection, for example, was designed by hand when I had to produce a new item overnight for a TV interview, with the sole techniques learned from toga."
Not one to sit still for long, Chin had entered Miss Jamaica Cornwall where she placed first runner-up, and received the best legs, best smile and most congenial awards. She later placed in the top 10 at Miss Jamaica World 1994. "During the pageant, film producer Lennie Little-White, who'll tell you he discovered me, and he's right, contacted Mickey Haughton-James to request that I attend an audition at Mediamix for Royal Palm Estates. I got the part as one of Sonny T's girlfriends and was later told I was one of the last people filmed with the late Ted Blackburn," she said. So she has actress, mother and wife on her life's résumé.
She first showcased at Caribbean FashionWeek in 2012 and, through a JAMPRO initiative, was selected to travel to both London and Canada to show her designs.
She admits to Outlook that the fashion industry is difficult to break into, but she doesn't focus on the difficulty, "I focus on my art and live in the expression of it and allow that to guide me."
At Femhéka, she says the purpose is the message, which is to awake the goddess in women who are the cornerstones of the society. "I want to reach them, motivate them, and, if they love our gowns, even greater. I want our women to feel magical, and that's a process that starts from within."
Photos provided by: Runway Life International, Nico Kastrup and Berette Macaulay.