Bold in red. - photos by Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

The stage wrapped the top, right corner of the swimming pool like large builders' bracket. The live preshow music, performed by the resident mento band, Energy Plus, blended perfectly with the water sprouting from the centre of the pool. This was the backdrop for the fashion show, dubbed Island Couture (Rhythms of Jamaican Fashions), held last Saturday at the Hilton Kingston hotel, New Kingston.

The fashions ranged from modest to abstract, both in colour schemes and designs. They were hot, bold, classy and elegant and made from materials such as bronze rod, beads, straw, spandex, cotton, silk and knits.

Island Couture (Rhythms of Jamaican Fashions) is a monthly fas-hion extravaganza and is presented by the Jamaica Fashion Apparel Cluster, in association with the Hilton Kingston hotel, in their effort to showcase works from established and up-and-coming designers.

The complete package

The works from five Jamaican designers depicting the complete package of apparels featured Barry Moncrieffe, Duane and Teasea Bennett (Reve Jewellery), Stacia Davidson (Yaad Trendz), Marcellas James (Cinderella Hats) and Judith Duncan (Blazin Designs).

Judith Duncan, the junior musician of the band, was the first to play. Her rhythm came in the form of a blazing display of female swimwear. Wearing Cinderella Hats, designed specifically to complement the swimwear, the Saint International models strutted across the runway in two-piece and one-piece swimwears made from regular swimsuit fabrics such as spandex. The colours ranged from orange and white, aqua, pink and white to gold.

Yaad Trendz's collection was a mixture of a variety of rhythms: dancehall, soul and calypso. They were bold, sensual and classy in designs and colours; a dapper-looking pants suit well worn by the male model; a two-piece blouse with an extremely short, see-through black skirt; another two-piece crocheted top and bottom was very creative, except that this red, green and gold skirt was the size of a large belt. Another example of Davidson's boldness was the combination of denim, silk and knit for yet another two-piece garment.

Simple and elegant

The Barry Moncrieffe collection was simple and elegant. The garments were modelled in pairs. They ranged from casual to formal, and were predominantly made from black and white-coloured fabrics, with a sprinkling of red and brown background garments. Moncrieffe's mission seemed to be to demonstrate that rhythm must be in harmony; for each female design there was a male counterpart in shirt.

Cinderella Hats were stylish in design and colours. They ranged from broad rim to small, crop-fitting ones. James not only had her hats providing accompaniment to the rhythms of the other designers, but played her own beat.

Tessanne Chin was the performer of the evening. She wore a Yaad Trendz design, an aqua-blue, knee-length dress accentuated with a broad, gold belt. She strutted her stuff as she showed off the ease with which the fabric allows movements, singing favourites such as When I am With You and Take My Breath Away.

The well-attended event was refreshingly entertaining. 'Mistress of Ceremony', Empress, said it best in her opening remarks: "Fashion is about finding your creativity and unleashing it." The models worked the rhythms of each garment worn and communicated it with energy and style.

Eye-candy!