Fashion, arts and creativity were all on show at Thursday night’s grand finale of Cole Facts 2, and after nearly three hours of intensive competition, 14-year-old Bishops’ High School student Sharda Elegon was adjudged the winner.
The finalists were chosen after weeks of competition during which they showed off their skills and faced questions from judges about their work.
Excitement filled the air as many, children included, flocked the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall to lend their support to the student designers. While the turnout was good, the event did not yield as much as was expected, though filled with entertainment from several local singers inclusive of Celeste David and Timeka Marshall.
The competition was stiff and the crowd applauded loudly for each contestant but Sharda and 12-year-old Affia Bobb were the obvious favourites.
The other contestants were Ashley Cameron, Janelle Cox, Sherry Hewitt, David Clarke, Shondeen Walters, Sophia Bowman, Keisha Harry, Odessa Grogan and Kristal Patterson.
Sharda captured the hearts of the judges with her sizzling creations and excellent choices of cut and colour and was named Cole Facts 2 student designer 2008. In the announcement made just after 11 pm, Odessa was awarded second place and David, the only male, third. David had been knocked out of the competition but was brought back by the judges, who awarded him a place in the finals.
As the winner, Sharda will represent Guyana at the Carifesta Youth Forum next month. She has also won for herself $120,000, a sewing machine and other sewing implements and will be doing a one-year internship at Facts and Roses to hone her designing skills. She also won a prize for having designed the best GT&T show-stopper outfit.
Affia won for herself a digital camera having been acknowledged by the judges as the contestant with the most potential.
Things got started in the afternoon with a red carpet lime and some three hours later it was show time, beginning with a display of the students’ school uniforms redesigned.
The students were assessed based on their choices and design of end pieces, GT&T couture pieces, swimwear and show-stoppers. The judges were looking for creativity, cut and finish, how the outfit was worn by the model and the design.
One of the highlights of the show was a black bridal outfit designed and worn by Odessa. Not only was it modelled well. but the added drama — the appearance of a knife and the tossing of a black bouquet sent the crowd into a frenzy. This was a piece that was well liked by the judges.
Another was a stunning green body-hugging outfit made of lace, designed by Sharda and fit for any red carpet anywhere in the world.
The couture segment was very interesting as here, students made use of materials such as plastic and gift bows in their designs and to complement them the models wore bright matching make up.
Swimsuits were also eye openers as they demonstrated youth and what they would wear when going to the beach. The colours here were well combined.
Following the display of all 21 pieces, it was then time for a face off between the contestants and the judges over individual pieces.
While congratulating all the contestants for their efforts and courage, the judges seemed particularly pleased with the designs created by Sharda, Odessa and Affia.
However, they pointed out that some of the finishes were not good – there were either hanging treads, problems with the hemming/edging and bunching here and there.
In one case, they said, a swimsuit worn by a model was too big but they were informed that the original model had dropped out.
Judges advised the contestants that they need to pay attention to certain details and be careful with the finish of an outfit since that is very important.
The couture pieces were also well liked by the judges and all the contestants were congratulated for their work in this area.
Following songs by Timeka Marshal and the announcement of the special prizes, it was time to pick the winner.
David’s placement in the top three and Affia’s non-placement seemed to have made many in the audience upset but the judges’ decision was final.
Moments after she was announced the winner, Sharda thanked God for her success and expressed sincere gratitude to Michelle Cole, the inspiration behind the competition, and her husband Trevor Rose.
Towards the end of the show, Michelle showcased her new line of clothing, “Sapphire”, which she named after her daughter. (zoisa_f@yahoo.com)
