It was around half-past two one Tuesday in January and I was meeting designer Rhaj Paul for a quick meet-and-greet, which turned into a four-hour interview.
Rhaj, it seemed, was in a militant mood and had a lot on his mind. He was just back from St Lucia, after moving there last February with wife, Kashia Avonda Paul, an artist and a fashion stylist in her own right, and whose parents are St Lucian.
He was finalising some samples for his new fashion venture.
Rocking one of his new graphic T-shirts – We Is W.I. – we sat in the back garden of his house and chit-chatted about everything from food to Jamaica to cricket.
Flash back to 2005: the Rhaj Paul Project was the name buzzing around the fashion industry with its cotton shirts, fray-edged finishes, blunt collars and rich colours in an extensive use of fabric.
Self-taught for the most part, Rhaj’s project was a great achievement for a technology student of the Barbados Community College and later theology student at the Caribbean Union College in Trinidad.
Many fashion shows later and the label seemed to suddenly fold, and the name Rhaj Paul Project was remembered only by those who still had one of his timeless pieces.
“I was expanding creatively and started to delve a lot in styling – looking more at the whole package. I had clients such as [singer] David Kirton,” he adds.
Resting back against a tree while lizards scamper up and down it, he leans forward, almost conspiratorially, and tells me the move to St Lucia was “to grow” as a person.
He went back to basics there, he says, with him and his wife choosing to live simply on very little but with great faith. What helped too, was that the simplicty of life in St Lucia created an attitude with people being more open to sharing.
He then reveals that he met some great people and made even greater friends in St Lucia. He dropped unwanted weight (physically and emotionally) and combined fasting with a healthier diet and regular walking – using this time to meditate and enter a new frame of mind.
Rhaj admits there were some highs and lows but he maintained his “centre . . . . You have got to be open to what is happening. I kept repeating the mantra that all will be well as long as I stayed centred”.
For those early months in St Lucia, Rhaj says he did no form of sewing but started dabbling in graphic designs with a notebook and laptop. The itch to design became a persistent feeling and he decided to turn those doodlings into full-fledged designs and create a few samples.
Realising where he was headed with the idea, he decided to return home where it all started.
With plans to go international, Rhaj is now working on a new portfolio which includes styling, design and graphics and is eyeing the British market to launch his graphic tees and a new menswear line.
“I am experimenting right now with a couple of pieces – about a dozen.”
He gives credit to Kashia, who is also developing a T-shirt label focused on empowering women.
“Kashia helps me with original ideas and feedback. She is my greatest support and critic, making sure I excel and surpass my own picture of excellence.”
Rhaj is now checking his stitches and lining up his seams, so to speak, and has teamed up with the brands G81 and Bimrock to perfect his designs.
“I am using my samples as my test pieces . . . to generate feedback. I am pacing myself because by the time I roll out fully, I want to land solid in the United Kingdom.”
And what about the Barbados market? Not right now, he says, but what he will do is help people create their own brands – right down to producing the final product.
So, if things are so good for him now, why is he in a militant mood? Considering the creative talent in?Barbados, Rhaj feels that fashion should be the next biggest earner for this island after tourism.
“Government is barely making use of this talent. If this continues, it will die or it will leave.”
He laments that the cost of production is high for designers and calls on those with financial power to see the impact of fashion and the value of it.
“There needs to be a healthy fashion industry in Barbados. I want an environment that is hungry for fashion,” he told WE.
And with that, we get to the crux of the matter. Fashion, he says, is non-prejudiced, and while there are guidelines in fashion, there are no rules.
“I have come to a place where I am being more allowing of differences. At the same time, I feel compelled to change things. The ban on camouflage is indicative of the short-sightedness that is stifling the fashion industry,” he says emphatically, while gesticulating.
“I understand the Government’s fear and the rules they make, but I am not interested in making all-out camo outfits to border on impersonation in the sense of the law. What I am saying is fashion is a legitimate culture that uses that pattern.”
It is a lengthy discussion on the topic of camouflage, and Rhaj has done his homework. He has researched the origins, development, and modern uses of camo and advises others to do the same.
“I want to change that law. Not allowing fashion designers to use camo is a crime against fashion. It is an unnecessary mistake.”
Rhaj believes strongly that clothing is used to express oneself or communicate a message and he goes on to say that being small-minded will be a setback for Barbados in the fashion world internationally.
Rhaj says his focus right now is on fashion and on himself – making himself “one” and looking to stay fluid and open.
“What matters is my vision of greatness and my integrity. Wherever it truly takes root is fine by me, as long as I can operate freely as the creative ‘I am’.”
