Sadeke Brooks, Staff Reporter
A model presents a design from various collections at Saint International's Style Week Jamaica 2K8, Male Fashions, held at The Ruins, Mona Visitors' Lodge, UWI, Mona, last Friday. - Winston Sill Photos
An inconsistent presentation prevented what could have been a wonderful showing of Saint International's Style Week Jamaica Menswear Collections. The event was held on Friday night at the Mona Visitors' Lodge, University of the West Indies.
The show was scheduled to start at 8 p.m., but did not begin until 9:30 p.m. At 9 p.m. Saint CEO, Dewight Peters, asked the crowd to be patient as he awaited the arrival of international journalists.
Hour-long wait
When the show finally began, the collections of five local designers were shown before the scheduled 20-minute intermission at 10 p.m. It, however, turned into an hour-long wait as Peters once again waited for the arrival of the international journalists before continuing the show.
However, Colin Hines was present to provide some wonderful mixes, thereby reducing the boredom.
The first designer to show was Pablo Palair, who showcased pastel colours like pink, yellow and blue suits with floral undershirts. He also gave the audience a taste of gold, polka dots and metallics. The outfits were quite detailed and made the models look slick.
Phillip Reid had relaxed silhouettes in red, yellow, green and aqua. Among his designs, a black mesh long-sleeved shirt worn with white pants stood out. This design made the women scream, especially when the model exposed his chest.
Conventional
Rick B's designs had smooth finishes. He used earth tones which were sometimes mixed with a bit of gold and silver. He was conventional, but Martin Miller of White Sky was not.
The presentation of his collection opened with a model wearing knee-length, grey shorts and long-sleeved jacket and white shirt. Also a standout was the chequered sweater in yellow, orange and black, which was worn with mustard-coloured pants. Miller also used bright colours like pink, green, and burnt orange in a variety of textures.
Les Campbell offered suave designs. He used various prints on the pants and mixed contrasting colours well. Red, pink and blue scarfs were also worn with the suits.
After the long intermission, the show restarted with the Flavvette collection from Paris. These were the most unconventional designs of all. Apparently, her designs are inspired by world cultures, as her collection opened with a model wearing bright Rasta colours. Beads and metallics were also used to depict other cultures. Her designs were characterised by mismatched bright colours and buttons matched with unconventional buttonholes. Peters was correct when he said, "Get ready to be shocked", as the male models wore heavy black eyeliner and/or rhinestones as part of the theme of the presentation.
Rojo designs from Barbados were not exceptional. The models presented slacks in subtle colours, different textures and tones. Orville Lewis' collection was also a bit tame. He mostly showed light colours, like yellow and blue with a bit of red and black.
Shutter shades
The show was closed by Dexter Pottinger, whose presentation was fun and the models more relaxed. They, also, wore shutter shades made popular by Kanye West and modelled mostly sweatsuits with an edge. These were accessorised by scarves. Boxer shorts worn with thin shirts and a combination of metallics and cotton, gave the collection a nice mix.
The show ended at 11:45 p.m.
Dexter Pottinger, Orville Lewis, Rojo