(NEW YORK) Haute Hippie has a case of island fever: the luxed-up bohemian RTW line is rolling out a boutique at the storied GoldenEye resort in Jamaica with 007 lore to spare. Why is the immensely successful five-year-old brand entering another vacay fray far from its popular Hamptons locations? Jesse Cole, Haute Hippie’s CEO and husband of founder Trish Wescoat Pound, filled The Daily in!
BY ALEXANDRA ILYASHOV
What can we expect from Haute Hippie’s Jamaican outpost, Jesse?
It’s a standalone Haute Hippie store at the GoldenEye resort in Jamaica, owned by Chris Blackwell, the former founder of Island Records. Chris is responsible for discovering Bob Marley, U2, and The Cranberries, among many others. GoldenEye is where Ian Fleming wrote all of the James Bond movies. Chris selected Haute Hippie as the sole retailer at the resort. It’s being erected as we speak, and will be launched on November 15, just in time for the high season. It’s a permanent store that will be open year round, and I’m working on the design of it with the GoldenEye architect.
How did the opportunity crop up?
[Wife and Haute Hippie founder] Trish and I were at the resort last New Years, in 2012, for our wedding, and we met Chris. We formed a very fast friendship over the two days we were there. He’s just an amazing person! The day Trish and I got back from Jamaica, we invited Chris to come to New York and see our Prince Street Haute Hippie store after we met him.
Did he actually come visit?
He did! Chris loved the store; we have a wall of heroes in our Prince Street store of Sixties and Seventies icons, mostly rock ‘n’ roll types. And Chris was friendly with most of the people on the wall! It was like looking through a yearbook for him. And he loved the name Haute Hippie; he thought it was the most brilliant name. He told us he could really see a Haute Hippie in his resort collection. Chris’ stamp of approval on our brand is second to none.
What makes Haute Hippie a parfait fit for Golden Eye?
Jamaica is very, very hippie chic. Haute Hippie has pieces, from board shorts to beaded cocktail dresses, that are just perfect for Jamaica: for walking off the beach and going right to breakfast, for example.
Anything special on the docket for the Golden Eye outpost of Haute Hippie?
We’re doing five or six exclusive pieces. There’s a very cool, one-of-a-kind beach poncho, some very comfortable T shirts, board shorts, and some beach items, like a beach bag and a bathing suit.
Are you a bigger fan of Jamaican food or music?
Well, I grew up listening to Bob Marley; I’m a huge fan. It’s also led me to other reggae artists that’ve become some of my favorites, like The Jolly Boys and Toots & The Maytals. 


You’ll be spending more time now in Jamaica, we take it?
We’ll certainly go merchandise it and hire a great staff to run the store. At some point during the high season, we want to put on an event at the new store, with Trish styling a bunch of people. We want to introduce our clothes to the Jamaican community as well as the resort community.
