OAA ‘Speaks Out About’ CFW – Night 1

Out and About (OAA) entered the Caribbean Fashionweek 2009 in the National Indoor Stadium, on Friday about 6:40p.m.  Booths from sponsors were set up in a row for patrons to visit and sample their products; alongside booths from designers.

Out and About didn’t miss seeing the Hagan Daaz booth through the corners of my eyes, thinking, of course, that it would be my first stop after the first show.  Anyway, back to the mission of experiencing the fashion and entertainment, so I headed to be seated in front of the catwalk to wait on the 7pm start… so I waited and waited…then at about 7:40p.m Mr. Kingsley Cooper announced that no-one was allowed to walk across the runway….ok then….he also instructed that no-one was to move once the show began….ok then…he told us that there were designated areas for eating and drinking and it didn’t include the area around the runway…hmm, alright. He went on to apologise for the late start and thanked all the sponsors; then finally introduced Dawn Lisa, our host for the night.  Alright, so I thought the host was Nia Long.  It was my impression, that Ms. Long would be hosting the show. Oh well.

I love fashion, and anticipated what was to head down the runway.

You can check the Fashion blog for the full fashion reviews, but I have to tell you …one word for designer Lamaica’s bags; FIERCE …and yes, she is Jamaican!

After the first of three fashion shows for the night, we had a break, so Out and About decided to walk around to see who was ‘out and about’ in the CFW…we spotted Wayne Marshall, no surprise, as his ‘lady’ was billed to performed that night; so we had a little chit chat with him…check out the interview below:).

After the break, a second fashion show, then break again….and finally, SHOWTIME…at 10:45, Kingsley Cooper introduced Nia Long…so now I get it…she wasn’t hosting CFW, she was hosting the entertainment section of CFW. Anyhoo, she came out looking as beautiful as in her movies…greeted Jamaica and gave a lame introduction to “local acts Tessanne and Tami Chynn” I wished someone had briefed her on the individual sisters, so they could have had a ‘proper’ introduction, which they both deserved. If this was Nia’s only job at CFW, why not give her a little sumtin, sumtin on the ladies?

Tessanne came out in black leggings, black and white checkered top, with a black broad belt around her waist…cute!  Check out images on site. She gained a few pounds, but looks absolutely beautiful!  Her voice is undisputedly, one of the best in Jamaica! She began with “Messenger”, interacted with the audience, …confidently joked about her ‘fluffyness’…and she involved them in belting out her final of three songs…Secret Hide-Away. She was in great performance mode and introduced Tami her sibling, as she exited the runway stage.

Cute Tami, smiling as usual, came out giving her sis, Tess props for being such a great singer, and letting us know that from Tessanne was little “…she sing like dat, don’t it mummy?”, getting confirmation from her mother, who sat in the audience… then hailed up the audience in real Jamaican lingua.

Decked in a full black, three-quarter foot jumper get-up, with a gold belt dropped a little below her waist…you have to see the images – when I work out how to get them uploaded!!!… Not impressed, Tami!  After seeing you in all these videos and pictures in the papers, looking sooo fly…you should’ve never come to CFW in that!!! Tami later explained to the audience, during her show, that she visited Tessanne’s closet for the outfit! Oh, ok then, so that explains it!

Tami Chynn was forgiven for the outfit (by OAA) after a superb performance!  Even though Tessanne is by far the better singer, I have to give the night to Tami. She impressed me with her interaction with the audience, and humbly thanked Mr. Cooper for having her.  Clearly, her international experience has improved her delivery.  She sang, danced, chit chatted and laughed every chance she got…a smile never left her face.  Pleasant, warm and confident, congratulations Tami, you stole the night!

Out and About was ready after Tami’s performance, but stayed for the third and final fashion show, and was happy I did.  Impressive creations, once again strutted down the runaway, don’t forget to check out full review on the designers on the fashion blog.

Ok luvs, stay posted for more as you know OAA is going to have to speak out on  CFW Saturday night!!!

Submitted by AliOAA