Yolande Gyles, Gleaner Writer
Winners in Pulse's Caribbean Model Search 2005 (from left): Gaye McDonald, Jamaica Fashion Model and Caribbean Fashion Model; Khalil Marks, Male Face of Jamaica; and Kavita Marshall, Petite Fashion Model. The finals were held at the Hilton Kingston Hotel, Knutsford Boulevard, New Kingston, on Saturday. - WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
FOR KAVITA Marshall, Khalil Marks and Gaye McDonald, Saturday night was great.
The three grabbed titles in Pulse's annual summer Fashion Model search competition and could possibly be well on their way to fabulous careers.
Marshall is the 2005 Petite Fashion Model winner, while Marks is the 2005 Male Face of Jamaica and McDonald took home both the Caribbean Model and Jamaica Fashion Model titles and over $100,000 in contract prizes from Pulse.
But for the rest of us, the night could have been better. Much better.
You see the main problem with the show was that it was poorly produced. And as Pulse crowed about celebrating its 25th anniversary, one wondered if all those years of experience could not have led to a better, more exciting show.
TOO MANY ENTRANTS
To begin with, there were too many entrants. The Male Face of Jamaica competition had approximately 40 entrants, while the Petite competition had over 80. And the grand dame of them all, the Fashion Model competition, had more than 120. After a while, all the contestants began to look the same.
A clear indicator that there were truly too many contestants was while MC Paula-Ann Porter Jones was reading names, she was told that persons were out of the competition.
Then there was a problem with the show's flow. The breaks between segments were too long, and even worse, there was absolutely nothing happening on the stage during these breaks. So naturally many members of the audience headed into the lobby.
And after winners of the various competitions were named, audience members left. The ballroom was less than half full when it was time for the Caribbean Fashion Model competition.
Even the fashion show segment, which saw designs from Cooyah, Heather Laine, Biggy, D'Marsh, Loren Tulloch, Khamit Revisited and Sean Dixon, seemed, well, unexciting. And it was not the fault of the designers.
INTERESTING TAKE ON MODERN FASHION
Kamit Revisited showcased their interesting take on modern fashion with an African-inspired twist, while new designer Sean Dixon went way back, back to the days of the Buccaneers for his collection's inspiration. It worked reasonably well, as dresses and skirts and blouses with huge sleeves combined to create an adventurous fashion outlook.
Heather Laine presented a few pieces of her line which emphasised a sophisticated casual. Cooyah was its usual funky self with shorter-than-short shorts and sexy, curve-hugging skirts.
D'Marsh and Loren Tulloch also represented with interesting pieces, but Biggy was clearly the 'belle' of the ball. As usual, his denim pieces were creative and inspiring even if most of us don't have the bodies on which to wear them.
Probably the highlight of the night was Male Face winner Marks dancing the 'chaka chaka' and 'willie bouncing' after he was named. And the audience, hungry for some real entertainment, lapped it up.
The top three in each category were as follows:
Male Face of Jamaica: Khalil Marks, Rayan Brown and Dean Crooks
Petite Model of Jamaica: Kavita Marshall, Maureen Walker and Amoy Green
Fashion Model of Jamaica: Gaye McDonald, Jeneil Williams and Adrianna Bryan.
Caribbean Fashion Model: Gaye McDonald, Eleazar Jeremie (Barbados), Treveen Stewart (Cayman).
