After a two-year postponement on account of COVID shutdowns, SAINT International’s anticipated Fashion Face of the Caribbean and Avant Garde Designer of the Year competitions return to the social calendar on Sunday (April 23) at the AC Hotel Kingston.

Eighty-five female and male model hopefuls will debut to a panel of international agents, with fingers crossed, hoping to land lucrative contracts with top agencies in the fashion capitals of Paris, New York, Milan and London.

“Excitement is fever pitch right now among the industry insiders who fly in this weekend,” the ebullient SAINT chief executive officer (CEO) Deiwght Peters disclosed.

“We have an exceptionally strong set of faces and it’s going to be an unenviable task to choose from these stunning young Jamaicans,” he noted, adding that his agency’s hardworking team combed model talent from the island’s three counties of Cornwall, Middlesex and Surrey as well as model prospects scouted from the United States and other Caribbean countries.

Models notwithstanding, also set to receive significant exposure at Sunday’s much buzzed-about event are 15 Jamaican fashion innovators vying for the title of Avant Garde Designer and a $60,000 token prize award from the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport. The gifted menswear and womenswear designer contestants will showcase their stylish twists to create distinct pieces channelling a ‘Jamaica 60’ theme.

“Based on the preliminary looks already previewed and sketches the designers revealed to me, it’s going to be next-level cutting-edge fashion drama as they attempt to use their designs and take on the requested challenge of telling the story of our culture and be influenced by our motto, ‘Out of Many One People’,” Peters revealed.

Capping off the event, the night’s entertainment package will see dancehall diva D’Angel as the headliner, with Spanish reggae singer Irie Souljah, and fast -rising reggae songstress Yeza set to thrill the audience.

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