{"id":2172,"date":"2020-05-08T13:49:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-08T13:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lauradowrich.com\/?p=2172"},"modified":"2021-08-07T01:44:44","modified_gmt":"2021-08-07T01:44:44","slug":"ris-anne-martin-a-career-in-four-acts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lauradowrich.com\/ris-anne-martin-a-career-in-four-acts\/","title":{"rendered":"Ris-Anne Martin: A career in four acts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If Ris Anne\u2019s career was made into a play, it would be segmented into four main acts: The Designer, The Stylist, The Costume Designer and The Mentor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In each act, she has taken the reins of her career and guided it to heights that have not only helped to build a thriving business but feed her soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For Carnival 2020, Ris Anne Martin was given the job to outfit soca star Machel Montano and his dancers<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Designer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Left on the sidelines because she couldn\u2019t make the notes in a musical play she was in which she was cast in Jamaica where she was studying, Martin was given the gig working with the wardrobe supervisor. When the woman quit the job, Martin took over and fell in love with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her first client was soca artiste Kerwin Dubois in 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI met him at One Woodbrook Place. I had no money to meet him that day so I walked from Ana Street to One Woodbrook Place. He wanted personal styling so I had to go in his closet and put things together. He asked if I designed and I watched him with a blank face. I knew I had it in me but I felt I needed to knighted, validated, go to school, or something. I tried to design a thing and I did a mini collection and gave him the male pieces. He was the first person to believe in me that way,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2014, Martin launched her first major collection, Iris, at the Tobago fashion Week. Named after her then-ailing mother, the bold, fun collection firmly pushed Martin to invest in doing a full collection and she has been doing one every year since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through her design label Brown Cotton, Martin has been stamping her distinctly Caribbean aesthetic all over pop culture. Her partner Leah DeGannes, who works as the Production Manager, has played an integral part in helping the business to develop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Martin has become the go-to stylist and designer for artistes seeking an edgy, sensual, and bold Caribbean vibe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her designs have been seen in Nailah Blackman\u2019s in videos for \u2018Oh Lawd Oye\u2019, \u2018Iron love\u2019 and \u2018Boujee\u2019, and Patrice Roberts in the video \u2018I Like it Hot\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nailah Blackman styled by Ris Ann for her Boujee video<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Stylist<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Martin, styling is an art which is why she prefers to work with artistes on their music videos or ads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMusic videos are a great opportunity to showcase our design and products could elevate them to another level, you could put them in anything, Performance styling is more of a hustle and what we are doing is an art. When it\u2019s a video, we take our time and craft a look and everything is intentional,\u201d said Martin who has done styling for White Oak, KFC, Digicel, and Caribbean Airlines\u2019 ads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Carnival 2020, Martin\u2019s talents as a stylist was taken a notch higher when she was asked to style soca king Machel Montano.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWorking with him is incredible, his team has good energy. We got a call from Che, his manager, who asked if we could work for Machel Monday last year, so we said hells to the yes. It was a week before and they wanted wardrobe management. He had like 12 changes that night. We did that and it was a success. We\u2019ve been in the entertainment styling industry for a while now but in terms of working with the best in the industry, I felt like that is where we were going. It felt natural,\u201d said Martin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey called us back this year to do styling and we designed outfits and styles. We were super booked, we were very honest and upfront about what we could and couldn\u2019t do and they were fine. Their whole look this year was very urban, they were into sweaters and the jumpsuit vibes which previously wasn\u2019t my cup of tea but now I am working on an urban collection. Some of the outfits were our design and he loved it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked how she approaches her work as a stylist, Martin said she listens to her clients, looks at their sense of style and try to achieve a more elevated version of who they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think a successful stylist is one who could add life and impact to somebody making them look like themselves not like me. I want for everyone, fabulousness. If left up to me everyone would be in a leopard crop top,\u201d she said with a laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nadia Batson in one of the pieces from Ris Anne’s Brown Cotton Caribbean<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Costume Designer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2016, Martin went to London to do a course in fashion design. That was the year The Lost Tribe made its debut in Trinidad\u2019s Carnival and Martin was blown away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI nearly dead. I said if I have to do this ever, I have to do it with Lost Tribe.  I wasn\u2019t interested in costumes, part of it was fear that I wouldn\u2019t do well but also because I wasn\u2019t connecting to it. But as a designer and creative, I felt I had to connect with it and I did through the styling on Nailah and Patrice. In January 2017 I said Ris Anne you need to be boldfaced and if you get a no is nothing,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was introduced to the band\u2019s Director Valmiki Maharaj and he told her to draw something and come back to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI went home and I did something, it was rushed, it wasn\u2019t my best design work. I pushed for it and he pushed for me too and we came to a consensus because Lost Tribe is a collaborative vibe, is not competition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martin has been designing for the band for the last three years. Her costumes, such as this year\u2019s Anansi,  have been among the most popular and visually stunning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She has even expanded her costume design skills outside of T&T, designing for bands in St Lucia and Grenada and four sections for St Croix\u2019 Carnival this past January, which was also her first production job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A post shared by RisAnne M. \ud83c\uddf9\ud83c\uddf9\ud83c\udf34 (@risystyle)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>