Kingsley Cooper, the visionary who put Jamaican fashion on the international map through his Pulse Modeling Agency, died in Miami on June 18 at age 71. Cooper was also involved in music, staging the popular Superjam reggae event during the 1980s.
His contribution to the development of Jamaica’s haute couture was hailed by his peers and public figures including the country’s prime minister Andrew Holness and entertainment minister Olivia Grange.
Cooper, who earned a law degree from the Norman Manley Law School, started Pulse in 1980 with fellow attorney Hilary Phillips. The company helped launch the international careers of models such as Kimberly Mais, Althea Laing, Nell Robinson and Jaunel McKenz
“It is with the greatest sadness that Pulse Investments Limited announces that Chairman and founder Kingsley Cooper CD died peacefully this evening. We ask that his immediate family be afforded privacy as they try to come to terms with Kingsley’s passing,” read a statement from Pulse.
Superjam marked Cooper and Pulse’s venture into the music business. Peter Tosh, Dennis Brown and American Rhythm And Blues legend Chaka Khan were some of the major names who performed on the event.
Pulse headquarters in Kingston was also the location of the Peter Tosh Museum which housed a number of items that once belonged to the reggae star who was murdered in 1987.
In 2007, Kingsley Cooper was awarded the Order of Distinction, Jamaica’s sixth-highest honor, for his contribution to the fashion industry.