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There are designers who follow fashion, and there are those who invent a new category. Myriam Jean-Louis belongs to the second group: she places Bakoua, a vernacular material of Caribbean basketry, at the heart of her creative vocabulary.
Born in Guadeloupe and raised between Martinique and Paris, she grew up in contact with major fashion houses, Printemps, Galeries Lafayette, and the bridal gown ateliers of the Parisian show-business world.
The last protégée of Monsieur Antoine Nisas, the first Black couturier admitted to the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, she established her MJL label in Strasbourg in the late 1980s.
In 1993, she presented a collection at Espace Cardin under the guidance of Monsieur Pierre Cardin in Paris. In 2000, she established a factory and a luxury boutique in Tunisia, before returning to settle in Martinique in 2005.
Since then, she has pursued the same mission: to gain recognition for Caribbean Haute Couture alongside European and African fashion, and to give Bakoua, coconut cloth, and calabash the status of noble materials in Haute Couture.
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What inspired your journey into fashion design and the creation of your brand?
Myriam Jean-Louis has spent decades working in fashion across Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean. After returning to Martinique, she became determined to give Caribbean fashion greater recognition and establish it alongside European and African fashion.
How would you describe your design style or philosophy?
“My style is simple and refined, with a strong focus on technique. I rework fabrics and incorporate fibres to bring originality and innovation to each design, allowing the wearer to have a unique piece.”
What can people expect from the Retour aux Sources collection?
You can expect 12 contemporary Haute Couture silhouettes rooted in Martinican craftsmanship. The collection brings Bakoua together with woven and braided textures, silk, jacquard crepe, and Swarovski crystal embroidery and embellishments.
What inspired the Retour aux Sources collection?
The collection draws from Caribbean heritage and Martinican traditions, including the tété-négresse, the drum, and Bèlè dance and song. It explores memory, resistance, and traditions through a contemporary Haute Couture perspective.
What makes Bakoua important to Myriam Jean-Louis’s work?
Bakoua is a traditional fibre associated with Martinican weaving and basketry. Myriam Jean-Louis tans and dyes it by hand, strip by strip, transforming it into a material for Haute Couture. For Retour aux Sources, it forms the foundation of the collection and connects Caribbean heritage with new textile techniques and forms.