Davina Henry, Staff Reporter

On a night when Calabar High and Holmwood Technical walked away with the Boys and Girls' Athletics Championships trophies, two new models began the hunt for fame.

At the end of the evening, Renarco Spencer and Kyisha Newman were declared the winners of the Saint International FashionFace of the Caribbean competition.

The event had its high and low points and was marred by technical problems.

As patrons made their way into the Courtleigh Auditorium they were told there was a technical problem which would delay the start of the competition.

MAJOR IMPACT

A few minutes later, all was forgotten as the hopefuls took to the stage and strutted their stuff. From the onset a few entrants stood out and made an impact on the judges.

The judges for the FashionFace competition, which included representatives from Wilhelmina Modeling Agency, Elite Models and Request Modeling Agency, were on the lookout for who would best represent Jamaica and their companies in the fashion world.

But while all eyes were trained on the hopefuls, the Avante Garde competition, which has been in existence for more than nine years, would steal the show.

The competition has become increasingly popular, with designers showing an eclectic mix of styles.

The winner was chosen by a panel of judges representing some of the world's most talented designers. The judges included Jamaica's very own Lisa Macintosh-Aries, New York-based designer, Courtney Washington and attorney-at-law Salford Rubenstein.

Designer of the Year.

With designers showcasing pieces that centred around the theme of the sponsor Sky Vodka, Andre Rowe's piece titled The Garden of Paper took home the title of Avante Garde Designer of the Year.

His creation featured 2,300 florets that were hand-glued to a black silhouette dress.

According to Rowe, it took him five days to sew the dress, but six weeks to glue the florets.

After a small intermision, songbird Denyque delighted the audience with a short acoustic set.

She reeled off hits from her growing catalogue including Make Me Believe You, Summer Love and Not What I'm Used To.

As it neared time for the big announcement of the FashionFace competition, anxious contestants took to the stage one last time.

The top-five contestants were announced, and a smiling Renarco and Kyisha, declared the winner.

According to Kyisha, nerves got the best of her but she managed to pull it together for the competition.

"I was very afraid and I wasn't confident in myself and Dwight [Peters] said I should have more confidence, cause he knows I will do well," she said.

A more confident Renarco told The Gleaner he was looking forward to going to Milan.

"Now that I've won I'm definitely gonna take it further. I'd love to be able to do Milan, so that's what I'm working towards," he said.

The night concluded with co-host for the evening Kerie-Ann 'Kiki Thombs doing the Harlem Shake alongside the contestants.