Ready, set, fashion!
SAINT models, designers gear up for Touch of France
Published:Friday | November 8, 2024 | 8:52 AM
SAINT International head honcho Deiwght Peters is promising high-octane glamour and celebrity guest models at this Saturday's staging of Touch of France's (TOF) designer collections.
“We are raring to go with five absolutely fantastic designers representing France and Jamaica,” Peters told Living during a break from directing runway rehearsals at the AC Kingston Hotel, the repeat venue for the biennial Touch of France, last held in November 2022 at the Lady Musgrave Road-located property.
“The French collection will be presented by Elliete LeSuperbe from Martinique, and we have a powerful contingent of Jamaican designers, including SAINT model-turned-in-demand designer Kadian Nicely. There are also newcomers to the SAINT roster of designers, Orlando Sylvister Samuels, and Mantel, a British-Jamaican who recently returned home to expand her fashion business,” he divulged.
Womenswear designer Tamia Carey fills the remaining slot of local clothiers on the show's line-up. Her fashion segment is set to send renowned names sashaying the catwalk.
For Peters, his modelling agency's now 24-year run with Touch of France is an inflection point of a beautiful shared journey.
“SAINT has been a committed, active partner from the inception of TOF when SAINT was just starting out. I remember the phone call from Pierre Lemaire, the TOF conceptualiser. He had heard about the start-up model agency with cool models and big ambitions. It was a no-brainer to jump on board as I felt his passion and saw the strategic fit for SAINT in the long term,” Peters recalled.
Likewise, Lemaire, the head cook and bottle washer of the three-day cross-cultural exposition, is very pleased with the two-decade-plus evolution of the partnership.
“The relationship with Deiwght and Saint has been great from the first TOF in 2000, for me, the most important things in the relationship are the sincere friendship and the creative energy,” Lemaire told Living.
Speaking further, Lemaire outlined the mission of the Touch of France exposition, which runs from November 7 to 9 at the AC Hotel. It is a joint undertaking by the French Embassy, Alliance Francaise and Club France. “The most important thing is to share French and Jamaican cultures, including arts, business, fashion, music, everything contributing to the culture of a country, and it's open to the public at large, that's why all its components are free,” the expo ideator explained.
And, with 30 established SAINT stars and fresh faces on the runway call-sheet for tomorrow's fashion spectacular, the model-maker harkened back to his charges' tremendous successes a month ago at Paris Fashion Week.
“Paris was another blockbuster and truly history-making. The season of stellar runway achievements further demonstrates and [cement] SAINT's position as the lead model management in Jamaica and the Caribbean,” he boasted.
Newcomer Sanique Dill made a world-exclusive debut for Miu Miu. Jessie Craig debuted for Valentino and was the show's closing model look, subsequently walking for both Miu Miu and Coperni.
“Kai Newman walked exclusively for Chanel. Breana Carson stepped out for Alain Paul. While Dru Campbell rocked for Dior, Louis Vuitton, Paco Rabanne, Loewe, and others,” Peters shared of the multiplicity of Parisian catwalk exploits.
Peters said that the long association with the French Embassy and Lemaire continues to reap dividends. “It has resulted in augmented business relationships for SAINT with French designers, models and promoters in Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guinea,” he shared.