Friday, September 11, 2009

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Androsia and Bahama Handprint take center stage at Miss Universe Fashion Show By THEA RUTHERFORD ~ Guardian National Correspondent ~ thea@nasguard.com: The dazzling contestants of the 2009 Miss Universe pageant strutted the catwalk in Bahamian style on Wednesday night to the delight of a packed audience. Half the main event of the Fashion Showcase, contestants from around the world modeled original designs by three memorable Bahamian designers. Designers Rachel Turnquest-Garcia, Basheva Eve and Sabrina Francis showcased pieces created with locally produced fabrics by Bahama Hand Prints and the Androsia company. The pairing of local designs and textiles on the international beauties drew cheers from an enthusiastic audience throughout the evening. Mode Iles Ltd. — the company behind the annual fashion showcase, Islands of the World Fashion Week, produced the glittering event held at the Sheraton Cable Beach. After the showcase the audience streamed outside onto the Cable Beach strip for the anticipated Junkanoo rush-out. Miss Universe 2008, Dayana Mendoza, hosted the event with Charles Sealey. While hosting, Mendoza wore designs by Brynda Knowles of Brynda's Haute Couture. "This is all very, very exciting," said Sabrina Francis of Se'B Designs after the thrilling presentation. "I feel very blessed to be a part of it . . . amongst all the beauty and glamour, which I love. This is something totally, totally exciting." Francis also had the opportunity to dress Miss Bahamas Universe, Kiara Sherman. The designer praised Sherman's spirit, saying that she was a pleasure to work with. "That was special," she said of working with the beauty queen. "That was very special. Kiara was very nice to work with. She's going to do well." The designers presented a combination of resort wear and evening gowns that showcased the versatility of both the Androsia and Bahama Hand Print fabrics they worked with. Forty-year design veteran Rachel Turnquest-Garcia pushed fashion limits with pleasing results with her showcase of shell jewelry, originally designed hats and garments. Hours before the showcase on Wednesday, Turnquest-Garcia expressed her excitement at being selected to show her work to the world during the Miss Universe 2009 events. "I'm so excited," said Turnquest-Garcia. "I'm nervous and I'm surprised and thankful to God that He chose someone like me so I would be able to show the world what the Bahamian designers really have to offer." The textile companies whose fabric was showcased were equally pleased with the opportunity to expose their product. "It's fascinating," said Merton Thompson, manager at Androsia, of seeing the fabric on the catwalk. "I get an opportunity to see that everybody from just about all over the world gets to wear our prints and I'm very excited to see it happen. It was an intention of mind a long time ago — a dream that our local fabric would go international." Guests reveled in the fashion feast for the eyes as well. "The show was excellent. The designs were fabulous," said Natasha Major, a member of the audience. Janet Johnson, director of communications for the Ministry of Tourism, called the combination of the designs with the local fabric in the show "fabulous. "I think it was fantastic," she said. "I'm a big supporter of buy Bahamian. I wear Androsia every day because that's part of our uniform, and for my social outings I wear Bahama Handprints. "I just think that Bahamians need to begin to buy local and I'm so happy that they've got designers now that have taken the local fabric and turned it into some really sexy outfits that could appeal to Bahamians." Johnson also raved about Monday night's costume presentation. The event, held at the Wyndham Nassau Resort Rainforest Theatre, drew a full house of supporters and pageant enthusiasts. The 85 contestants presented costumes representing their countries. Sherman, Miss Bahamas Universe, roused national pride with her canary yellow, feathered wonder of costume. The piece was designed by contractor Junkanoo designer Teran "Bappy" Davis. Davis also played drums at the airport to welcome the contestants on their arrival over a week ago. The presentation, said Johnson, was "outstanding." Friday, August 14, 2009