J. Angelique Clothing is a trailblazing Caribbean brand known for its elegant sex appeal. Boasting multiple features in Essence magazine, J. Angelique is the brand of choice for countless fashion-forward influencers across the globe. Jin Forde, the creative powerhouse behind the brand, discusses her journey in the fashion industry. Possessing both Trinidadian and Barbadian heritage, she is a true embodiment of Caribbean talent.

Jin Forde, founder of J. Angelique Clothing. Photo courtesy Jin Forde.

Please introduce yourselves to the readers and tell them where you’re from and what you do.
I am Jin Forde, the mind behind J. Angelique Clothing, a lifestyle brand which caters to the modern diva. So, whatever the diva does, we provide that exquisite wardrobe for her. I specialize in the draping technique; that’s the most identifiable characteristic of my clothing. When you see it you know that’s J. Angelique. It’s about empowering women through their clothing.

I would always say that the J. Angelique spirit animal is the butterfly: very sociable, can be a caterpillar when ready, but can bloom into that beautiful social butterfly when ready. In real-life terms, it’s that modern, confident woman who works hard and plays harder.

Tell us about how J. Angelique started.
I grew up in Barbados and it was all about having your home clothes and your going-out clothes. Going to school pageants and school fairs, it was always about how you looked and how you dressed. My mum used to make a lot of my dresses, so naturally fashion was something I did and something I enjoyed. Lots of looking at Teen Vogue magazines, really idolizing clothing and brands as I was growing up. I didn’t sit there and say I was going to be a fashion designer, I was supposed to be an attorney-at-law, but you just roll with the punches.

J. Angelique started during my university days in Trinidad where literally a friend said, “You know you dress nice; you should probably do this fashion show.” At that point I had just moved to Trinidad, my grandmother was really good at sewing and tailoring so I had it in my blood. I was always interested in clothing and dress and how I looked and stuff like that.

After I participated in that university show, and I did a couple more shows, I decided that this could be lucrative. So, I did some courses at London School of Fashion and Central Saint Martins as well. When I returned to Trinidad I decided this was a direction I could go in. It’s just a story about persistence and progress, taking the time to perfect your craft, offering a great service, and just excelling. My business registration says 2011 but after I graduated from UWI was when it really started, around 2012, 2013. That’s where I was like, it’s a business now, I have to try to make some money.

Where does the name J. Angelique come from?
Angelique is actually my middle name. So the brand name is just an abbreviation of my name. My mother named me after Janelle Penny Commissiong, Trinidadian beauty queen and the first Black woman to win Miss Universe] so I always tell her that everybody’s named Janelle. I enjoyed having Angelique as my middle name so[the brand became J. Angelique.

What are some of the major challenges you face in the Trinidad and Tobago fashion space?
People steal my work and pass it off as their own and not having that protection or guidance for protection. I think that’s my biggest thing right now, the idea that for some people, authenticity is not important. In my Instagram bio I have the word “authentic.” It’s something I pride myself on. The biggest challenge is people profiting off of work that they did not do and they steal work that I did.

Every day won’t be easy. I always have a problem answering these types of questions. There are stories I can tell that are unbelievable, I don’t know how I got through them. I don’t sit and think of them like “Oh my God, this is so horrible” or anything like that. It’s just the process. But I can say, my work that people replicate is the challenge that I’m dealing with.

What do you think makes your brand stand out in the local and regional fashion space?
I think the style and – I hate to use such an overused word, but the vibe of the brand: the idea that it’s a Caribbean brand and that it shows fashion and style from our perspective. You grow up being stylish, you grow up paying a lot of attention on clothing, so you’re seeing designs from a Caribbean person’s eyes, and it looks naturally unique from what is being offered all around the world.

My draping aesthetic, the way I pair colors, the way we style, where we wear things as well. We would find it appropriate to wear a gown to the supermarket because that’s how we feel and what we do. If we’re going to work, no matter what, you put on a nice dress and you go. Having fashion from that Caribbean perspective I think is very different about J. Angelique.

What are some of the major milestones you’ve achieved with your brand?
We’re still open, that’s a big milestone (laughs). I would say, from the beginning, we revolutionized Monday Wear in Trinidad--less elaborate costume worn by masqueraders on Carnival Monday, Day 1 of the Trinidad & Tobago Carnival parade. When I first started, it was just people doing Monday Wear for a friend here, a friend there; there wasn’t that idea of a Monday Wear collection. I was definitely the first to offer a Monday Wear collection.

I got into the idea of merging Carnival costumes with our ready-to-wear. My clothes now appear on Revolve; that’s one milestone. From there, I was selected to attend a Fifteen Percent Pledge Dinner where they pay tribute to people of African descent in the fashion industry on Revolve, and I was one of the few chosen to attend. The Fifteen Percent Pledge is basically a pact that buyers have a duty to have at least fifteen percent of their store stocked with brands owned by people of African descent.

It’s interesting to discover that you were at the forefront of making Monday Wear into an industry (locally and regionally). Not a lot of people know that.
The year I did it, nobody else did . The next year though, everybody came with their collections. I’m not really on Twitter [now X], but I get all the updates from my husband and other people. When they were talking about Monday Wear and its growth, one person, literally one person, out of a sea of opinions remembered that J. Angelique was the first to have a Monday Wear collection. And sometimes it just takes one person to remember and that’s fine. I have never worked for other people. So, I don’t necessarily care what the general opinion is. We at J. Angelique know the truth.

Tell us about an important lesson you learned about working in the fashion industry.
It goes back to authenticity. Just be true to yourself and stand for what you believe in. Hard work pays off sometimes. Some people want it now, some people want it fast, but the idea of persistence and progress pays off after a time. Once you’re authentic, once you stay true to the vision of your brand, I think that will take you to where you aspire to be.

What inspires your work?
I think now my work is inspired by what legacy I want to remain. You do things with the idea that this will leave a lasting impact on society. People would look at J. Angelique and say, “That girl grew up regular like all of us and look what she achieved.” And I was always industrious and hard-working at school. You didn’t have to tell me to do my homework and stuff like that. I was always a hard worker, but what do you want your kids and other people’s kids to say about you? I think that is what inspires me the most.

How important is it for you to incorporate Caribbean culture into your work?
Very important. Naturally it’s who I am so even without consciously incorporating it, it’s there. When I design a dress, I’m always thinking, which fete, an organized party usually held during the Carnival season, am I wearing this to? Can it sustain me wining--dancing involving gyrations of the waist, hips, and buttocks down to the ground? Naturally, functionally, the clothing has to stand the test of fetes: color choices, material choices, just the way things are seen and done is culturally relevant just because I live in the Caribbean and that’s who I am. Without even thinking about it, it’s there.

How has motherhood impacted your business and creativity?
My best friend and I were having a good laugh saying, “I don’t want to be sewing till I’m ninety.” I always had that vision of me behind a machine sewing a dress. I always had the idea of the business being able to run on its own. I don’t have to be there or have to oversee every minute detail. I think I’ve reached the point where the business can run on its own. I have my team that is exceptional that helps the business run without me having to oversee or be there.

And having a little kiddie, I realize that that’s so great. I can spend time with my daughter. Everybody knows your parents get up, they go to work, and you don’t see them until four or five o’ clock when they get back home. And I have the luxury, at least now, to be around my daughter for the majority of the day if I want to, depending on what I have to do. Generally, I have that privilege. Motherhood has made me realize that you have to ensure that your business is fixed.

Creativity-wise, you have less time of your own, but creative juices are always going. I once read an article where this lady was talking about how everybody tries to separate their business and family. Business time, you only talk about business; family time you only talk about family. But she merges it. She gets the opinions of her nine-year old son. She talks about business with her family. Same thing with me. My family is included in my business so there doesn’t have to be this major divide. It really helps to get the opinions and support of your family in your business. That is how it’s working right now.

How frequently do you release new pieces/collections and what’s the design process for each?
When I look back, I’d always say I could retire now because of the amount of collections I made before. Each piece is a collection. I have tons and tons of pieces. So, it used to be three or four times a year I’d release new collections. Now it’s slowed down as we have to process more things and have gotten involved in more carnivals and stuff like that. But we constantly release new stuff, I’m constantly trying new things. It may not be in the structure of a whole collection to release something. I might just release something to wear to a fete and that might just be the next big thing. Sometimes there is fanfare with the release of a new collection. If I have something new and I feel it, I just let it go immediately and keep going and going. It keeps things fresh, keeps things new.

We release based on seasons and seasons and I’ve fully incorporated into sustaining the American market so we have the Spring collection. Also, if it’s Carnival time we have to release new stuff for it. If it’s summertime we have to release new things for it So releases are based on Caribbean seasons and seasons in the United States as well. I also once did a Divali (Hindu religious festival) collection and we still sell some of those things for Divali. We also did an Emancipation holiday to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved Africans in the Caribbean collection and paired our pieces with authentic African garb. So, J. Angelique is definitely a cultural brand.

What does it mean t you be a fashion designer in Trinidad and Tobago?
National pride. I am very pro-Caribbean, very pro-where I come from. To be doing something that not many people have achieved while still living in the Caribbean. A lot of people think you have to move to America to make it. I thought I had to move to Brooklyn, to be around the who’s who, and all that. When your work reaches influential people, things can happen for you as well. l live in the Caribbean and live out my dreams. And a lot of people wish that they had certain opportunities that we have. It’s definitely a sense of pride. I’m always looking for new directions for what I can do next.

Where do you want to see your brand five years from now?
Protected from the international thieves who steal designs (laughs). I also want it to be a household name for Caribbean fashion and what somebody thinks of when they think of Caribbean fashion. Similar to how you think of Rihanna; she actually went to my school. Whatever you think of Rihanna, I want you to have a similar association with my brand.

What are the most crucial skills needed to succeed at what you do?
The ability to keep going. There were some people who started off around the same time that I did who are no longer designing. They decided to take a regular job somewhere because they have bills to pay. Can’t fight anybody for that. You have to have patience; you have to have persistence and you have to put in the work and run a business.

It’s not that there’s nothing that school can teach you. In sixth form (grades 11 and 12) I did the Management of Business, but that doesn’t teach you how to keep a business afloat. You have to be flexible; you have to be so open-minded and willing to just keep going. Those are some of the skills you’ll definitely need. You can design really well, you can do all these things, but if you can’t sell or your clients think you have a horrible attitude, it won’t work. You always have to have that well-rounded package of business.

Who inspires you the most?
Right now, my inspiration is my daughter. She literally inspires me to keep going. Before that I would always say my mother and father. They both have qualities that I really do admire. But now, I’m starting to think about my legacy and my daughter has really sparked that inspiration in me.

What words do you live by? Why?
My grandmother used to say, “Do the right thing because it’s always the right thing to do.” If you say those words, you’ll always do the right thing. My husband once told me, “Never let two years be the same.” So never let what you did last year and this year be the same. We always try to do something different. We always try to evolve and innovate so that we’re not stuck. My slogan for this year is “Blooming and booming.”

What advice would you give to someone who wants to become a fashion designer?Just start. You may not have all of the answers figured out. Make mistakes and be open and flexible to correct them and move on. I’m not really a procrastinator, but sometimes I spend a lot of time thinking if to do this or if to do it, should we do it or should we do that, but the thing is to just start. Figure out who your customer is, try to service your customer and have your standard. If you are the customer, who is “you?” What does “you” require? At least you have to start, make the mistakes and be flexible to rectify them and evolve.

Social Media.
Instagram: @designerjangelique
Website: shopjangelique.com

Article by Ren Wilson, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine
Tearsheets by Nicolas Harris, Graphic Design Intern, PhotoBook Magazine

Dressing the Modern Diva: An Interview with Jin Forde, Founder of J. Angelique Clothing