The Tamesis
Scott’s experiences at Colgate University and across the United States opened her eyes to America’s relationship with race and how racial networks influence and even supersede everything from economics, politics, culture, class, religion, geography, race, and even ambition.
“In Jamaica,” she said, “it was different — there was obvious class, there was obvious colorism, but I didn’t understand what it was like to be a black man in America until I moved here and went to Colgate.”
In the fall of 2001, before Scott entered his freshman year, Colgate University, which has about 2,800 students, was engulfed in a turmoil that was, in part, a harbinger of the debate over diversity that would continue to plague campuses and the nation: An email from a political science professor questioning the intellectual rigor of students of color sparked a series of protests—a controversy that continued into the following year, when Scott and the school’s handful of other international students were forced to make some decisions. Although Scott made it clear that questioning her own worth was not part of this examination.
“I grew up in a black country, so it’s normal to think I can live anywhere,” she says, though she quickly adds: “I acknowledge a certain level of privilege because I’m a light-skinned black man – my mother is white, and unfortunately, Jamaica is still a colorist. But I’m lucky enough not to think that I don’t belong somewhere. I also think that’s part of being Jamaican,” she laughs. “We think we do everything better than everyone else.”
As an undergraduate, Scott attended summer courses at Central Saint Martins; she studied abroad in Dijon. After graduating, she became enamored with the work of the Antwerp Six (a group of designers including Dries Van Noten, Walter Van Beirendonck and Ann Demeulemeester who captured the imagination of the fashion world in the late 1980s) and wanted to study fashion design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, but when she wasn’t accepted, she considered Plan B again. She traveled to Milan for a one-year course at the Istituto Marangoni (Franco Moschino alumnus) and worked briefly at Costume National, but when her visa expired she headed to London in search of a new position.
“I interviewed Sarah Burton a year before McQueen died, and she was really lovely,” Scott said. “I interviewed Phoebe [Philo] When she first started working at Céline, she said, ‘Your sketches are really good,’ and that was it – I didn’t get the job. “Scott eventually returned to New York to work at J. Mendel and finally Rachel Comey for seven years, rising to VP of Design.
“I admired her intelligence and thoughtfulness,” recalls Comey, whose company celebrates its 25th anniversary this year (see page 46). “I think about all the different types of women—how do their bodies change; how do their careers impact their wardrobes?—and Rachel was ready to do this type of exploration.” It wasn’t a surprise that Scott eventually left to launch her own brand. “I know she has the ability,” Comey said.
