Nashauna Drummond, Staff Reporter
Left: One of the contestants in Zahni International's Top girl competition held at the Courtleigh auditorium last Sunday models a design by Marlon Bolton.
Center: : A piece by Lil's Fashion. Right: A model in evening wear by Haute Couture de Dawn.- PHOTOS BY ROGER CHUCK/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
ZAHNI INTERNATIONAL wants to play with the 'big boys' in the model agency industry. On the heals of Saint International's Style Week and a few days shy of Pulse's Caribbean Fashion Week, they staged Magna 25 Sexiest Island Women, Caribbean Men and the Avlon Top Girl competition at the Courtleigh Auditorium in New Kingston, last Sunday.
With a very basic stage design the competitions got off to a very late start. Scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m., it did not start until about 9:20 p.m. It indeed show the very different faces and perception of beauty and sexiness. The contestants in the Magna 25 Sexiest Island Women moved away from the typical model body type. These contestants ranged from the larger more voluptuous to rotund body types. 'You too fat!' shouted one member of audience to one of the young models who was especially plump. The Top Girl contestants were the typical tall and skinny models. The Caribbean Male contestants who were buff in all the right areas, brought varying degrees of screams from female audience members.
Contestants paraded in a variety of designs. From evening wear by Haute Couture de Dawn to Lil's Fashion, Eldon Campbell, Marlon Bolton, Roireece and Eldon and Zara, Lil's Fashion stood out with colourful crochet and camouflage pieces. Bolton's designs were also very different with dramatic raw edges.
After a very lengthy deliberation by the judges, the winners were finally decided. Nineteen-year old Marsha Thompson won the Magna Sexiest Woman, Top Girl went to 19-year-old Althea Clarke and Chase Smith won Caribbean Man award.
