Along the glittering turquoise expanse of Seven Mile Beach, past a sherbet-toned motel sign, sits the epicenter of Jamaica and its diaspora’s fashion. Sweet Like JAM is here, popping up at the Skylark Negril Beach Resort with a boutique and installation that spotlights 35 designers, including Diotima, Nicholas Daley, House of Aama, and Nia Thomas, alongside local artisans and painters.
JAM, founded in 2024 by stylist and fashion editor Mecca James-Williams, is a commerce platform spotlighting luxury designers across the African and Caribbean diaspora. But it has also become something of a cultural movement, an exploration of travel, art, and creativity that brings the diaspora into dialogue with itself. “Our tagline for JAM is ‘the glue that connects me and you.’ So JAM is a bridge builder between diasporic communities,” James-Williams tells Vogue.
Jamaican fashion feels particularly vibrant and full spectrum right now, from the work of London’s Martine Rose and New York’s Diotima, to Jawara Alleyne and Theophilio. “For decades, the world has taken inspiration from Jamaica, from Burberry to Dior, but Jamaican designers are now writing their own narratives, celebrating Jamaican culture in their clothing,” James-Williams says. “Each designer brings a distinct perspective, but they’re all celebrations of Jamaican culture, and ultimately, Black culture.” That’s true of the work of Bianca Saunders, one of the brands stocked at Sweet Like JAM, whose spring 2025 menswear show explored Jamaican tourism and her own childhood trips to visit family.
“Jamaica’s footprint is so global,” says James-Williams, pointing to Maximilian Davis at Ferragamo and Grace Wales Bonner. “[These are] Jamaican heritage brands in a way, with their designs, and none of them are shoppable on the island. I was on a quest to fix that. She reached out to Skylark, and successfully pitched a pop-up to feature both global and local Jamaican luxury brands.
From hand-carved pieces by local woodmen to custom marble tables created with Jamaican artisans, every detail is intentional. “This is a collaboration with artists and creatives across the island to create something that hasn’t existed,” James-Williams says. “Fashion, music, art, culture—our goal is to show how we can sustain these industries financially while building a creative ecosystem in Jamaica.”
The opening weekend was a sensory celebration of Jamaica in every sense, with a welcome dinner celebrating local cuisine at the hotel restaurant Miss Lily’s, music and performances from Zuri Marley, Naomi Cowan (who wore Theophilio), and Uncle Ronnie, and a closing panel with Bianca Saunders, Edvin Thompson, and Troy Oriane, which explored fashion’s future on the island.
And what’s next for JAM? “The first goal is to create a landmark store here in Kingston. So it always speaks to Jamaica, and it always speaks to the impact that Jamaica has on global culture,” says James-Williams. “And then we’re taking this experience globally. I want to target different countries, in Brazil, on the continent, and I want to connect the idea that Blackness and Black culture is global, and we can break bread with each other in ways that we naturally always have.” Sweet Like JAM proves that Jamaica’s creative economy is more than an international export—it’s a thriving ecosystem right at home.
Sweet Like JAM’s pop-up boutique at Skylark Negril Beach Resort, Jamaica is open through to October 9