BY KRISTA HENRY, Staff Reporter
Marsha Thompson, first place in the 25 Sexiest Island Women' model search put on by Zahni International at the Courtleigh Auditorium on Sunday. - ROGER CHUCK
ZAHNI INTERNATIONAL AND Magna Rewards '25 Sexiest Island Women' came off to a late start last Sunday at the Courtleigh Auditorium.
The event scheduled for 8:00 p.m. did not start till around 9:20 p.m., much to the dismay of most patrons. The production itself showed the relative newness of the event, this year being only its second year running. Patrons were heard protesting throughout, with cries of "dem no organise properly, look how long we stand up outside" and another complained "dem no kno time".
Zahni International was host to three shows, including '25 Sexiest Island Women', which was designed to accommodate the reform in the industry where there are more curvy, voluptuous models compared to the usual tall and skinny types. The second event hosted, 'Top Girl' stuck to the norm, with a number of tall and skinny young ladies as contestants and 'Caribbean Men' explored the masculine potential.
On the production side, the setting was fairly simple, with music contributed by the Chinese High Commission. However, it became evident throughout that the production could have used more practice. The choreographed numbers and the shifts throughout were not as smooth as possible. Despite the 'technical difficulties', though the show produced a number of crowd favourites, especially from the 'Caribbean Men' competition.
The men stole the stage with a close tie at the end of the show. The chairman and emcee for the night Marlon Bolton, explained that the male contestants were examined by 10 individuals and a winner could not be clearly distinguished. It was left up to the crowd to choose among three contestants. The running was especially close between Chase Smith and Bertony Reynolds, however, it was Chase Smith that came out with a modelling contract worth J $300,000.
'25 Sexiest Island Women' and 'Top Girl' had an array of ladies from across the island with some as young as 14 years. There were some ironies during the event though. For example, none of the contestants for '25 Sexiest Island Women' were chosen for 'best bodies', only contestants from 'Top Girl' and 'Caribbean Men' were so deemed. It is ironic for a show to proclaim that they are looking for voluptuous women and yet none competed for best body.
Zahni International has produced a variety of talented models. Hopefully 'Top Girl' winner Althia Clarke, with her contract worth J$300,000 will realise her potential as a top model. Winner of '25 Sexiest Island Women' Marsha Thompson was ecstatic to come out on top, accepting her prize of a contract worth J$300,000 with tears of joy.
The models presented designs from Lils Fashion, Haute Couture De Dawn, Marlon Bolton, Eldon Campbell and Zara (who are also models). The designs offered an array of colour and flair to the competition.
Do
you have a problem? Is something bothering
you? Write to 
