Fashion designer Wayne James, who was born in St. Croix, added three new scents to his repertoire last month at Bougainvillea Perfumery in St. Croix. He started designing when he was a young man. Specializing in perfumes and beauty care items, Bougainvillea is a pink historic property located on King Street.
James took to sewing and designing with ease, having come from a long family of seamstresses. He honed his abilities while attending Bradley University and St. Joseph’s School for high school. He had already begun establishing Wayne James Ltd. during his last year of law school at Georgetown Law Center.
He said that on March 30, 1987, he displayed his debut collection at the Anita Shapolsky Gallery, located at 99 Spring Street in SoHo. After that occasion, which was covered by the New York media, James sold his first collection to Bergdorf Goodman a week later.
Since then, James has sold clothing in upscale establishments throughout the globe, such as Saks Jandel in Washington, D.C., Nordstrom’s, and Victoire’s in Paris.
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During his time as a senator in 2010, James had the opportunity to meet the perfume industry “nose” Patrick Bodifee at the Cannes Film Festival. Therefore, the Eau de toilettes “Rebellion,” “Freedom,” and “Celebration” are gender neutral. Notes of passion fruit, grapefruit, sugar plums, wood, sandalwood, ginger, nutmeg, and/or other aromatic oils can be found in all three fragrances.
James has utilized his artistic abilities over the years to write Manly Manners, an etiquette manual for contemporary men, and to create a line of leather belts called Carnival Seasonings. Additionally, he imparted his expertise by teaching several courses on local history that tour guides utilize.
In 1999, James established the Homeward Bound Foundation, which successfully lowered a 12-foot-tall, 17-foot-wide Middle Passage Monument to the Atlantic Ocean’s bottom. It served as a monument to the millions of Africans who perished while traveling to America as slaves. James thus received the International Humanitarian Medal.
James was elected to the Virgin Islands Legislature in 2008, and he spent two years there. He was convicted in 2018 of wire fraud and over $90,000 in federal program funding stolen while serving in the Senate.
He received a 30-month jail term. He challenged his conviction in the District Court after being freed, claiming that his due process, effective counsel, and witness rights under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments were violated. Additionally, he has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court.
James was blind by 2020 as a result of Pensacola, Florida jail officials’ failure to deliver the glaucoma drugs he sought and needed while inside.
He filed a $17,250 million lawsuit against the federal government in 2024 after being freed. He has put aside $50,000 a year as a gift from the secret settlement to allow any adult to visit the world.
According to James, his entire life’s work has been centered around his eyesight, and now that it’s gone, he uses his sense of smell. Despite this, he still writes and types 90 words per minute.
He will introduce all three scents throughout the region and then globally over the course of the following year, despite his limitations.
Customers may buy a leather carry-on, an opulent bathrobe, a leather scarf, the History of St. Croix Cuisine, Manley Man (three volumes), and other high-end products created over the past 20 years at www.WayneJamesLtd.com on February 15. James is also completing a YouTube reality series.
Even the “deliberate indifference” didn’t defeat him “when they sat back and let me go blind,” James added, adding that many people believed this conviction would derail him, but they were mistaken.
