Diotima: a Greek philosopher, prostitute and the inspiration behind the name of the Jamaican-born designer Rachel Scott’s brand. Scott told me that one place the character, Diotima, was referenced is, “Eros and Civilization by Herbert Marcuse. […] He brings her up because he says that you can take desire and you can sublimate it in a non-repressive way to create…and I find that so beautiful and how I want to operate in the world, and so that’s where the name comes from.”
Scott has possessed this inner desire to create ever since her childhood growing up in Kingston, Jamaica. Whether it be immersing herself in the beauty of the nature around her: “It’s tropical so we spent the entire day outside. You know, so I would climb trees and embroider” or making a new outfit for each party she went to in her teens: “I spent a lot of time making clothes to go to the parties because I couldn’t wear the same thing every [week],” her creativity always found a way to shine through.
After becoming further skilled at making her own clothing and collecting countless fashion magazines, Scott pursued education abroad.“I went to university. I studied French and art initially. I didn’t study fashion, but knowing I wanted to be a designer, I would do courses at FIT in the summer and did an internship at Vogue, and then I did a course at Central St. Martin’s one summer and I interned as a bridal designer. […] I just really knew what I wanted; I knew what my goal was.” Scott was determined to learn and absorb everything she could while having these opportunities.
Last year, Scott won CFDA’s American Womenswear Designer of the Year, and while this is a huge honor, she shared that it is “weirdly very humbling.” She recognizes that despite all of her accomplishments, she remains very similar to her younger self who was just getting into the fashion industry, in the sense that she “learn[s] something everyday” and is “so grateful to everyone who’s been a part of [Diotima] and everyone who’s not been a part of it directly, but has supported me in some way. It’s so special to know that there’s community, and community can help you do something.”
Source: Vogue
Connecting back to Marcuse’s idea of “sublimating one’s desire,” Scott transforms old memories, images and feelings into something completely new of her own creation. She told me she is “a collector of ideas and of images in my mind, and somehow they all manifest into inspiration and into a collection.” It is unclear if the character Diotima ever truly lived, but what is clear to me after talking to this brilliant designer is how interesting, inspiring and incredible her path has been and how edgy, captivating, and sophisticated her designs continue to be.
Source: Diotima Website
