Haute news!!! The luxury portal PAPAIŸO is quietly but assiduously recruiting the Caribbean’s most iconic brands to fulfil its mission of being, according to platform founder Micha Alleyne, “the home for Caribbean artisanal luxury.”

PAPAIŸO launched papaiyo.com with about seven brands in Winter 2020. Today, Alleyne informs that there are over 20 hand-picked brands from eight countries, including Mexico and the Dominican Republic, with expansion into new exciting categories soon to be announced.

“What makes us unique is that we focus on the strategy required to credibly create this niche and compete on a global stage. The process is tedious, but we are not taking shortcuts,” she adds.

“We take a 360-degree, holistic approach to developing this niche. We have crafted a bouquet of boutique services around logistics, marketing, brand strategy and technology, among others — services that we feel are necessary for brands to flourish in global markets. Any Caribbean brand can access these services a la carte, whether or not they are on papaiyo.com.

“The platform is also introducing the industry to a new language and aesthetic around Caribbean artisanal luxury: The way it sounds, the way it looks, the way it feels. If you search ‘Caribbean artisanal luxury’ in Google, our hope is that you will find PAPAIŸO. (Try it!).

“As such, we are best thought of as a dynamic ecosystem constantly adapting to the needs of our star brands who will ultimately define this space”.

Indeed with the star power of what the platform labels “heritage brands”, such as Meiling and Jenny Polanco, PAPAIŸO is introducing the world to a new way of experiencing the magic of the Caribbean. They are, and rightfully so, impressed!

“Made to order” is the engine that drives Caribbean luxury and the platform infuses some of this in how it operates. “It will take the global industry time to adopt new behaviours around this way of experiencing Caribbean luxury, but the industry will be better off for it. Yesterday, we overnighted a tape measure to a busy exec who was travelling on business so that they could measure themselves to allow our doting designers to create truly bespoke pieces just for them. They were blown away. We must understand the made-to-order model, and give it the proper attention. It is what defines our region, but if left un-nurtured, will be used as points against us. We are educating the market about this,” concludes Alleyne.

Together with its brands, the luxury portal is expressing the concept of luxury on its terms, teaching the world a different perspective that is grounded in artisanal mastery, cultural legacies, and sustainable practices. This is indeed Caribbean artisanal luxury.