My Grandmother, Her Kareeba Suit: Visiting Family History at the Met's 'Superfine: Tailoring Black Style' Exhibition
Ivy Coco Maurice ascended the storied steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, ready to bear witness to a moment in personal, family, and fashion history. When she saw the Kareeba, the original suit style designed by the pioneering fashion designer and her late grandmother Ivy Ralph, she 'cried two rivers—maybe three.'
'It was a moment of spiritual release. I hadn't cried much since her passing, but on that day, I felt her with me. Her spirit walked beside me in that gallery,' she tells Vogue. Ivy Ralph's design features as part of the Costume Institute's spring exhibition, 'Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.'
Ivy Ralph's original Kareeba suit design.
Ralph's signature piece became the Kareeba (also spelled Kariba) suit—a style of jacket that's like a more formal version of the common bush shirt and safari jacket worn across Africa. It is worn without a suit and tie, making it more comfortable in a warmer climate. Over the years, the suit was worn by notable politicians—presidents of Tanzania, Barbados, and Guyana included—and musicians like The Jackson 5.
'The Kareeba was a revolutionary expression of Jamaican pride. When Jamaica was seeking independence from British rule in the '60s, my grandmother took it a step further in the '70s—decolonizing the way men dressed. She believed our liberation had to be cultural, too,' affirms Maurice. 'She saw how the suit-and-tie dress code didn't serve our climate. Men sweating through their clothes wasn't her style. So she created something breathable, sustainable, bold, and uniquely Jamaican. The Kareeba was her answer. Through her sharp eye and effortless design, she redefined Jamaican menswear.'
A sandy-toned, exquisitely tailored original design from the '70s is now on display in the Met.
A newspaper cutting from the '70s about Ivy Ralph's designs.
An early piece of The House of Ivy ephemera.
'I had to pause, breathe, and remind myself: My reality is my grandmother's wildest dream. She ran so I could walk. And that day, I realized I wasn't just representing my family, I was representing Jamaica. The Kareeba is more than fashion, it's an artifact. It's history. 'Her-story.''
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