Stella Jean produced her new collection with Haitian artisans, many of whom have lost their homes, workshops, and sense of stability, though not their spirit, to crime. “These are my Buffalo Soldiers,” Jean said, borrowing Bob Marley’s metaphor to describe her the women she worked with on the project. Shot across the city of Cap-Haïtien, and blending the designer’s Italian-Haitian roots with her commitment to cooperative design practices, Aesthetic Coup d’État, as she called the new offering, is her way of giving back to the country that has given her so much.
The collection stems from a reflection on uniformity and autonomy, specifically Haiti’s historical relationship with Western dress codes and the phenomenon of secondhand clothing exports, known locally as ‘Pepe.’ Staples of Eurocentric masculine dressing were reimagined by Jean: Striped cotton poplin shirts featured decorated bandanas on the front, while beige tailored trenches became canvases for hand-painted, colorful accents. Hats were a key feature; the standout is a modern take on the traditional elongated Haitian headpiece, handcrafted the night before the shoot by Michel Chataigne, one of Haiti’s most revered designers. While color played a framing role, silhouettes were sharp yet generous, often cinched with visible belts. Alongside the oversized hats, golden Creole earrings–large and round–symbolized resilience, strength, and identity.
More than a collection, this was a cross-cultural capsule grounded in Jean’s core methodology: “It can be a megaphone for those who live in one of the poorest countries… Maybe fashion can be something more again, something that helps someone stay open, visible, and alive.”
