Chester Francis-Jackson, Contributor

And as it was in the beginning, so it was at the end. The ninth annual staging of the Pulse-created Caribbean Fashionweek (CFW), was a blast and nothing but. It was a celebration of the Caribbean passion for things fashionable, an homage to the talent and creativity of its people and a lesson in fab and flawless style. It was executed by the region's reigning style icon, Kingsley Cooper, and the grand dame of eleganza, Romae Gordon!

Opening night was on Thursday, June 11 at the poolside of the landmark Hilton Kingston Jamaica hotel, and that was a glamourfest! With the eyes of the fashion world steadfastly focused on Kingston, international scribes and paparazzi jetted in from all over. The region's hottest designers and models all gathered for what promised to be our finest hour. With a slew of Hollywood celebs, not to mention a high-profile entertainment line-up, y'all know it was going to be hot like that!

The reception was a red-carpet atmosphere akin to any fab premiere! Think high-glam! Think chic! Think the reigning beaux and belles of fashion! Think high-end fab with no drama and all with a passion for fashion, dressed to thrill in the latest designer duds. Without a doubt the venue is a living testament of the fab-life, and with its poolside was transformed into an oasis of all things fashionable to facilitate the reception of CFW '09.

Runways

And so it was all eyes to the runways of the National Indoor Sport Centre, for the unfolding of this year's designing and modelling stars and for the thousands of fashionistas, hopefuls and hot numbers who viewed the collections. It was definitely a case of a designed life or not at all! We are talking three nights of absolutely, dazzlingly, captivating fashion here! There were some designers whose stars were far brighter than others and in this respect the Trinidadian entourage came, saw and conquered. Claudia Pegus is definitely the queen of Caribbean fashion and her designing countrywoman, Meiling, the CFW '09 dowager empress. But it was the stunning comeback of haute designer, Sandra Kennedy, with her clean lines and easy-of-manner line that had the hometown crowd buzzing!

Biggy is king

And as Pegus was the undisputed queen of the threads, Jamaican avant-garde designer, 'Biggy' Turner, was king, beating off the challenge of the inspired Nana Boateng, who emerged as fashion's prince in the making, his designs signalling he has not allowed the shadows of his legendary cousin, Ozwald Boateng, to diminish his very own star quality! Boateng proved a truly inspiring designer and definitely one of the hottest stars to shine this year.

Parties

And then there were the after-parties at the trés cool Villa Ronai in Old Stony Hill! The wrap-up party was hosted by Strawberry Hill's Boutique Hotel and Spa last Monday. Designers, models, organisers, suppliers and beautiful people were either transported or motored to the fabulous mountain retreat to party the night away and this they did with wild abandon!

The evening began with a dinner on the lovely lawns of the exclusive property, and from dinner, it was down to the cobbled courtyard of the charming property for a spot of dancing. Dinner was a treat, the barbecued jerked lamb, simply and awesomely to die for! But that was early evening. As the evening wore on, all thoughts of dining were transplanted by the urge to party with the best of them. What a night! The vibe! The music! The party! With the curtains falling on the runways and visitors knowing it would be a year again before they would be back, they partied like pirates of old! It was all fab!

Seen at the party were minister of youth, culture and sports, Olivia 'Babsy' Grange; head of the European Union delegation Ambassador Marco Mazzocchi Alemanni; Ambassador Leonora Rueda of Mexico; Senegalese Ambassador Dr Nafissatou Diagne; Honorary Consul of Ecuador Clelia Barreto de Hunter; Honorary Consul of Lithuania Lois Lake Sherwood; legal luminary and founding director of Pulse Hillary Phellips QC; Jonathan Surtees and his fab wife, Paula; Professor Carolyn Cooper, and her sibling, attorney-at-law Donette Cooper, in from Washington D.C.; the esteemed Maria-Martine Israel, in from Belgium; the fab actress Nia Long was out.

We also spotted songstress Kelly Rowlands; American rapper Eve; former cricketer Maurice Foster; Hortence Waul, in from Connecticut; Dr Michael Banbury and the lovely Nicole Lobban; Patrick Bailey; the charming Enid Harrow; advertising giant Gurney Beckford; the iconic Mutabaruka and his wife, Jackie Amber Olabisi, of the House of Mutamba Designs; Dwight Moore and wife, Sharon Millwood-Moore and his sibling, attorney, Andrea Moore.

Also out were the lovely Barbara Humes; Oliver Magnus; siblings Carol and Marcia Reid and daughter, Safia Cooper; publisher Douglas Gordon; EU official Alex Dropinski and his wife, Dr Saphire Longmore; Nigel Pagan; the oh-so-fabulous model-turned-designer Lois Samuels; Ghanaian-born designer, Nana Boateng; Polo's new campaign star, Oraine Barrett; Trinidad beauty Anya Ayoung-Chee; banker Tanya HoShue; Juanita Britton, from D.C.; the fab Tracy Moses; Colin Hylton; cover girl and modelling sensation Lyndsey Scott; Carmen Clarke; Derrick Newball; Pat Townsend; Socrates McKinney; Juliette Dyke and the lovely Minka Francis.

We also saw Christopher Nathan; Marsha Wilson; Delroy Morgan; Michelene August; Leah Mari; Sharon Beckford of Bling-Bling Designs; Juliet Wright of Island Girl Jewellery; model and aspiring actor Kanhai Condison; model Nadine Willis and her fiancé Christopher Wilson; the fab Trudi Hamilton and the lovely Annmarie Bryan, in from New York; Claudia McGann and her mom, Verna White, also in from New York; Gavin Douglas, in from London; Romero Bryan, in from the United Kingdom; Melissa Eldemire; Matthew Mensah; Keneea Linton; Jennifer Barnett; Anatolli Smith, also in from New York, and many more.