By Tanya Batson, Staff Reporter
Femme Fatale! Wearing little more than a faux gunbelt, this model sent the men wild at the Sashi Fashion Show. At rightt, the males take a final turn on the catwalk, much to the delight of the female patrons. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
JERRY D, Farenheit and Future Troubles took the Sashi Fashion Show up a notch on Thursday night. The event was beleaguered by lateness and then by rain. The latter continued throughout the parade of fashion, but did not seem to affect either the models' or the audience's enthusiasm.
The show, a part of the Sashi 2k2 series of events, featured the works of designer Linda Becky for the new Sashi Male Collection and the Sashi 2002 Swimsuit Collection. Many of the pieces of clothing carried the Sashi label as a part of their design. Some of the branding was discreet, while other outfits featured the name emblazoned on either the back or front.
The swimsuit collection was made up of largely basic bikini suits, with colour being the greatest variant. What was most impressive about the women's segment was the way they were accessorised. The women wore various scarves, boots, handbags and even faux gunbelts to match their suits.
The most impressive factor however, was the 'hair wear'. The female models wore various bits of local fauna, not merely traditional flowers, to decorate their tresses. Hair sprouted plants such as mango, ginger lilly and various grasses, which added a touch of the exotic to their look.
The male models gained the most attention, however, with the exception of one female model. She had a particular bounce which sent the men wild, especially when she appeared wearing a very skimpy camouflage bikini, matching head wrap and a faux gun belt. One man, unable to contain himself (not that he appeared to be trying), yelled: "Gyal me woulda kill yuh right now!"
However, there were quite a few women in the crowd and they were quite satisfied with the largely male contingent of models. While the female models kept their poise and sashayed, jiggled and bounced down the catwalk at a semi-detached pace, the men were largely more interactive.
This spate of behaviour was lead by Farenheit, Future Troubles and Jerry D. These three kept the audience entertained with various antics. Farenheit, who boasted very impressive arms, earned himself quite a few screams, especially from a very excited group of young girls. When he first appeared they screamed so loudly that he looked at them and screamed back, which sent the audience laughing. He, for the most part, had quite a bit of fun with his modelling stint. Extra screaming points were won by throwing his accessories at these excited girls.
Future Troubles, the original 'Iya iya hoo' man, brought a different flavour to the catwalk. He kept the audience entertained by often engaging in a little dance, including the 'On-Line', as he made his way either onto or off the stage. This was despite the fact that the stage was wet and possibly quite slick. Fortunately, he never slipped.
Jerry D began his modelling stint in a mode of mock-seriousness. He kept his head straight and wore the haughty look of a model. However this expression on a man with the build of an adult cherub is simply pure comedy and the audience readily got the joke. The popular radio jockey continued to earn himself laughs with each appearance and at one point even mimicked a robot (inclusive of the matching dance).
'TAKE IT OFF!'
These three were not the only ones to interact with the audience. Several of the males were constantly yelled at, especially by the women, with the female comments usually being of the "Take it off!" variety. Some of the male models brought out roses, which were distributed to the very eager female patrons. However these fickle women soon gave back their tokens to male models who particularly impressed them.
Not all the comments were positive however, and these usually generated from the men in the audience. As many of the male models came out barefoot, one patron found it important to note, after looking at a pair of feet. "What a bwoi toe wan' clip", much to the delight of those who heard him. Another model, who seemed to be taking his role too seriously, also earned some comment. "Dis yute have problems y'know," one man stated.
In a post-show interview with The Gleaner, Becky noted that she had selected a variety of male models because she wanted to show that her clothing was for all body types and shades of manhood.
The male fashion showed much more imagination than the bathing suits, generally exuding a hip-hop vibe. They varied from basic loose-fitting peasant gear to baseball shirts and, of course, denim. Al-though the evening began with only cool, loose, white outfits, other colours soon came to dominate, with even pink coming up in the mix.
COTTON CLOTHING
Denim made its way to both top and bottom and was often featured in patches or pockets on other kinds of cotton clothing. Several of these pants featured hand-painted women's faces and were often worn with shirts bearing matching faces.
Men also featured camouflage outfits, as well as army green suits. There was also very basic black. One of these outfits clearly stood out due to the design on the back. The suit appeared to be a classic, simple black long-sleeved shirt and matching slacks. However, when the model turned and revealed a huge brown hand with a single digit raised, it sent some excitement through the crowd.
Becky remarked that the clothing was urban gear and, though it was not being worn by Caribbean men on the local scene, it was being worn in the United States. She said that she hoped it would take on here soon and the line should be available in Jamaica in December of this year.
Despite the fact that rain fell for the entire show, which was rather short, most of the patrons seemed to have enjoyed themselves, in what was a feast of fashion and, even more so, flesh.
