Pellau Magazine

*AGSelectPR, Kingston, Thursday, May 17, 2012:* Jamaican Crystal Powell
wowed judges on Mission Catwalk episode eight with an avant garde, couture
garment made from alternative material- old newspapers and materials from a
hardware store. This is the second win for the 25 year-old who previously
won the Flapper challenge on episode three.

For Crystal, the win was a confidence booster: "I got a chance to show the
judges that I can be dramatic and over the top and very intense, moods I
usually reserve for my poetry and drawings. Avant guarde is highly
regarded in fashion, so for me it was a validation of my design acumen."

Inspired by the Crusades, Crystal wanted her design to be pretty but
unsettling to reflect "how something which purportedly started out with
good intentions could have such devastating and ugly results. "

The garment's top was made from newspaper with a unique amour-like stencil
made by applying black spray paint over a polyflex sink protection mat. The
collar and belt of the dress (made from folded newspapers spray painted in
red) formed both a sword and cross. The skirt was made of cut newspaper
folded into flower-like shapes, still using the same stencil pattern but
this time sprayed in red. The bold and dark effect was accentuated by
black flowers, lipstick and gloves. The purple feather earring and cobalt
(blue) tights were used to incorporate the traditional colours of
priesthood- purple, red and blue and continue the theme of the Crusades.
Copper and steel wires added for further dramatic effect.

Crystal's effort won her a feature in OCEAN Style Magazine. Guest judge
and editor of OCEAN Style, Douglas Gordon thought her work was "creative,
interesting, well-constructed and editorial-ready." Equally impressed were
the regular judging panel: Keneea Linton-George, host and executive
producer of Mission Catwalk, Novia McDonald-Whyte Jamaica Observer
Lifestyle editor and Carlton Brown, celebrated menswear designer.

Though Ryan Berkeley of Guyana did meet the challenge requirement, the
episode five runner-up received the lowest score and was sent home. Of the
remaining seven designers, three are Jamaican (Crystal Powell, Janel Jolly
and Gregory Williams), two are from Barbados (Kesia Estwick and Kerin
Scott) while Trinidad and Belize have one representative each in Ryan Chan
and Rebecca Stirm. Mission Catwalk originally started with an all Jamaican
cast, with season two seeing participants from five countries from around
the region.

The series will climax with a grand showdown at Caribbean Fashion Week with
the top three designers in June. To find out 'Who will rule the catwalk?',
keep watching the show which airs Tuesdays at 8:30 PM on TVJ and is
simultaneously streamed online at
http://www.televisionjamaica.com/livetv.aspx. Episodes also repeat
Thursdays at 5:30 PM. Presented by NCB, Supreme Ventures and Digicel,
Mission Catwalk is now shown in six regional countries: Jamaica, Barbados,
Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Guyana and Belize.