By Nathelie Taylor, Gleaner WriterDARING DRESSES. Sheer surprises. Creative cuts. It was a night of drama with a generous dose of the erotic. It was 'Faces and Fashion', the grand finals of 'Miss Summer Face 2003' and 'Mr. Hunk 2003' competition at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston on Sunday.
Patrons were treated to a display of sexy, shocking designs modelled by 23 beautifully-toned men and women from the collections of Knotted Up, Addissa, D'Marsh, Karl Sway, and Biggie Jeans.
Although fashion took up most of the evening's programme, the highlight was the contest itself. Eighteen females and five males competed for the coveted titles. After a long wait, which included a stirring James Bond-styled opening act and lukewarm musical entertainment by La Face Models, the top 10 women and top three men were chosen. Each was then presented with gift packages from Soft Sheen, a sponsor of the event.
In the end, Alicia Smith and Kwayme Douglas were announced the winners.
The results, however, were not surprising, even though Alicia and Kwayme admitted that they did not expect to win.
Alicia was the crowd's darling from the start. She had the starring role in the opening set as the sexy 'Bond girl', sang during the intermission and ably performed a hot Latin dance with Jason, a male contestant. She displayed great stage presence, was confident in her strides and had enormous sex appeal which she accentuated with her smouldering stares and pouting lips. She had what the judges were looking for stage appearance, poise, confidence and flair.
Kwayme was also impressive. Sporting an almost bald head, his stares were penetrating, a nicely-defined torso and exuded confidence as he strutted along the stage.
A DISSATISFIED CROWD
While most were pleased, a number of patrons expressed displeasure with the judges' decisions. One woman, for instance, gesticulated wildly and cried "It nuh fair, it nuh fair", as Alicia was announced the winner. Another woman, who had two daughters in the contest, also felt cheated by the judges, even though one of her girls had reached the top 10. As for Kwayme, he was booed as he claimed his title. There was even a small group discussing who was the sexiest guy.
'Faces and Fashion' combined beauty and style effortlessly. The models were all attractive, especially those who were confident enough to express a less 'conventional' style.
Anita Myers, a cool dark beauty who walked almost stealthily, wore red and very close cropped hair that suited her well. Sketa Edwards was really cute with her medium-sized 'Chiney Bumps' and the winner, Alicia, was amazingly sultry with her red, natural shag.
HOT DESIGNS
Each design also found favour with the patrons, not just because they looked good, but more so
because of the bodies that seemed to have been poured into them. Whistles resonated throughout the room, for instance, when Nicola Chenner stepped out in a camel-coloured b-rider set, and when Petrina Rose came on in a leopard print outfit, the top of which barely covered her nipples, the men went wild. Both designs were from the D'Marsh collection.
The men's sexual restraint was to be further tested by the many appealing outfits designed by Biggie. One, a knee-length black dress worn by Marvalyn Bennett, attracted the men because her ample bosom was exposed by the sheer material it was created from. Another design was a mini-dress worn by Tameica Tavares. From the front, the dress seemed simple enough short, sleeveless and with a patchwork design. However, when she turned around, the sheer material exposed a g-string and a rotund derriere. 'Gwaan girl' was probably the mildest expression heard in appreciation of this outfit.
The women got their chance to cheer wildly as well. Admittedly, the guys were not really 'hunk' material, but they were nicely-toned and attractive enough. Apart from the barely-there underwear, which were almost bursting with their manly contents, the men flexed their muscles, blew kisses and ripped off shirts exposing sculpted chests.
The women loved every second of it. Denroy Reese, in particular, seemed to have been outfitted with designs to make the females sweat. From the Addissa collection, he wore red low-slung pants that gave an interesting peek at his rear. However, when he appeared in a white Calvin Klein thong, the women were unable to restrain themselves.
