An All White Affair At Strawberry Hill Honors Georgiana Robertson Among Fashion Favorites

By Walter Greene

One of the highlights of Style week Jamaica was the Style Awards and all-white fashion brunch at the luxurious Strawberry Hill resort and Spa in the soothing hills just outside of Kingston. One of the world’s most iconic fashion models; Georgiana Robertson, who was born in Jamaica, received the prestigious ‘Millennium Model Icon Award’ from Style Week creator and CEO of Saint International Model Management Mr. Diewght Peters.

Georgiana, who tearful accepted her award said that it’s the first award she received for her modeling and Diewght was responsible for her crying; “I am just a big baby, I didn’t expect this - I had no idea. I hadn’t been in Jamaica for a while and I’m excited to be here and receiving this award it means a lot to me. Being born and raised here it comes from the heart, it’s an incredible blessing, because my mother did not want me to model, but now she’s very happy. Especially with this award and being honored by my own people. I’ll like to thank everyone who made it possible for my success over the many years.”

Georgiana has worked on the runways for some of the world’s most prestigious designers like Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Christian Dior, Romeo Gilli and Ralph Lauren to name a few. She’s appeared in advertising campaigns for some major brands like L’Oreal and Maybelline and was the model for the ground-breaking campaign for Cartier. Her first magazine cover was for French Madame Figaro magazine. She became the first woman of color on the prestigious double Christmas/New Year’s issue of French Vogue and only the third ever to grace the cover of French Vogue. Town & Country Magazine chose Georgiana for their cover as well as other publications like Viva and Elle Magazines.
Director Robert Altman cast her for her first movie ‘Pret-a-Porter’ (Ready-to-wear) and she’s also appeared in the short film ‘Save the Rabbit’ with Teri Garr and Danny Aiello. She appeared in ‘Un Nero per Casa’, a modern version in Italian of the film classic ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’ which was produced and directed by Italian star of stage and screen; Gigi Proietti, for which Georgiana had to learn Italian in three weeks. Her latest film project is ‘Double Zero’ by French director Gerald Pires (Taxi) in which she’s the female lead, playing a machine-gun fighting villain.

Saint International also took this opportunity to present awards to photographers Ron Contarsy and Alexia Somerville for their Outstanding Creative Contribution. Male Model of the Year Award went to Tafari Hinds; Models of the Year - 2006 and 2007 were presented to Sigail Curry (2006) and Sosheba (2007); Designer of the Year went to Neah-lis while the Designer Trailblazer Award went to Dexter Pottinger.

 

Miss Trinidad & Tobago Universe On Top
 

By Walter Greene

In a recent “Miss Universe” pageant forecast, winsome Anya Ayoung-Chee ‘Miss Trinidad & Tobago Universe’ is at the top of the heap in the Miss Universe pyramid that predicts early favorites for the coveted crown. We’ll have to wait until July 13th to see if she wins. All 80 delegates are now going through their final interviews, appearances and rehearsals in Nah Trang, Khanh Hoa, Vietnam where the live telecast will beam to a television audience of 250 million on July 13th when the new ‘Miss Universe will be crowned.

Catching up with Anya backstage at the recent Fashion Week Trinidad & Tobago, just before she left for Vietnam, Anya said; “I think Trinidad & Tobago fashion week is an unprecedented experience for me. I’ve been inspired by the scale of the production.” She said she was looking forward to representing Trinidad & Tobago at the ‘Miss Universe’ pageant. “I am extremely ecstatic and proud to represent Trinidad & Tobago. I am looking forward to two things - meeting the rest of the girls and also traveling, we are going to three different cities. I have traveled quite a bit and you always learn something new and interesting.”

Anya comes from a Chinese and Indian background and said that is quite similar to what she’ll experience in Asia and she’s brushing up on her languages. In her spare time, not that she has that much time to spare these days, Anya loves ballet, modeling, traveling and learning different languages. She is a member of the Professional Charitable Membership Foundation and the Tallman I Remember Movement where she performs ballet and modern dance. She revealed that her National Costume represents the ‘Fancy Sailors’ of Trinidad Carnival Mass Bands.

The 26 year-old graphic designer said she’d like to have a future as a business mogul. “I find something intriguing in everything I experience so my interests are many and varied, ranging from fashion and photography to reggae music and documentaries. Overall, my greatest loves are dancing and meeting new people.” The eldest in a family of five brother’s Anya said that the greatest gift she’s ever received was her family. Asked about her career goals, she flashed that beautiful Trini smile and remarked: “To be a woman who bridges the gap between beauty, success and socially conscious work. I hope to own and be the face of many businesses specifically in the creative field, and to use these businesses as a conduit for aiding those in need.

Other Caribbean beauties vying for the ‘Miss Universe’ crown are: ‘Miss Bahamas’ - Sacha Scott; ‘Miss Antigua & Barbuda’- Athina James; ‘Miss Cayman Islands’ - Rebecca Parchment; ‘Miss Jamaica’ - April Jackson; ‘Miss Curacao’ - Jenyfeer Mercelina; ‘Miss Turks & Caicos’ - Angelica Lightbourne; ‘Miss Puerto Rico’ -Ingrid Rivera; ‘Miss Dominican Republic’- Marianne Cruz; and ‘Miss Aruba’ - Tracey Nicholas. Africa is represented by ‘Miss Angola’ - Lesliana Pereira; ‘Miss Ghana’ - Yvette Nsiah; ‘Miss Nigeria’ - Stephanie Oforka; ‘Miss South Africa’- Tansey Coetzee and ‘Miss Tanzania’- Amanda Ole Sulul.