Despite having the opportunity to work in countries like Switzerland and England, designer Robb Anthony opted to return home and start his own custom bags and sandals business in hopes to build Brand Jamaica.
As a child growing up in St James, Anthony always knew he had the creative gene, and knew that he was meant to be a fashion designer. So, in 1988 at the age of 19, he moved to Switzerland where he lived for eight years and studied at Modefachshule Sigmargen where he was trained in fashion design. Then, in 1999, Anthony decided that he wanted to learn more and travelled to England to study a fashion design course at the Lewisham College in London. However, after thinking about what he wanted for his career, Anthony realised that he wanted to be a local entrepreneur.
“I had a calling to come back home and do something. I wanted my own business in my homeland, that was my motivation,” Anthony said. Initially, the 55-year-old started making custom bags here in 2006, but then in 2018, he decided to branch off into sandals and now he has completed his first fashion line to dress both men and women from head to toe. He said the line, Robb Anthony Active Wear or RAAW, will soon be available for sale at his shop which is located in the Kingston Craft Market. Anthony also told THE STAR that what he loves about his job is the freedom to express his creativeness.
“Designing is the outlet for my creativity, I like the idea of being able to bring a vision to life because the context starts in my head and then I get to make it a reality and bring it to real life,” Anthony explained, adding that his professional journey has not been void of challenges.
“Some areas can be more challenging and less rewarding. So the part where you have to be convincing people that this is a good product to buy and give them multiple reasons as to why they should buy it, as opposed to them just seeing a fake something and they just run and grab it without question,” Anthony explained.
Still, Anthony, who has a mixture of Jamaican and international clients, is hoping that his work will forever remain iconic as he tries to infuse Jamaican authenticity with first-world quality.
“My tag line is ‘more than a product, but a lifestyle’ and the reason for that is selling a product can be difficult. But selling a lifestyle resonates more with persons. So Jamaica is a brand by itself, but what I realise is that we don’t use it enough. We don’t sell Brand Jamaica enough and I’m hoping to change that,” Anthony explained.
On average he spends roughly two to three hours handcrafting each of his designs which can cost up to $22,000. He told THE STAR that although some may deem his prices expensive, he uses high-quality material like vegan or genuine leather and he knows his product is “not for everybody.” Still, he hopes to continue to prove why his quality designs are worth every penny.
“I create products that when you see them, you see the heritage of Jamaica. But at the same time, it is very first world in quality and in appearance. But there is a space for everybody, so the onus is for me to create that reason, that environment, that lifestyle to attract the persons,” Anthony said.
