Faydeha King emerged as the best talent when the Miss Earth Guyana Talent and Fashion preliminaries were held last Saturday night at the Theatre Guild.
The programme proceeded with contestants doing their talent pieces before they displayed their recycled pieces. Each contestant had been assisted by a designer and models displayed several designer pieces before each recycled costume made the stage.
Phelicia Adams represented the Dwarf Morning Glory and performed a dance. Faydeha, the Sunflower, did an earth-themed dance. Annessa VanSluytman’s ‘Bird Set Free’ dance paid tribute to animals that have gone extinct and those that are endangered. The fourth item, “Gaea”, was a spoken word written and performed by Amelia Bakhsh, the Torch Ginger, was a reminder to the audience to take care of the earth. Dressed as the Cattleya Orchid, Cintiana Harry did a moving dance that had the audience spellbound then taken back when she let out a piercing scream as part of her performance. As the Flamingo, Kataina Phillips acted out a poem called “Save the Environment”. Decked in a mangrove tree costume, Maricia Meusa did a performance of “Death of A Friend”, symbolizing the death of the mangrove forests. To end the talent segment Selena Guyadeen did a spoken word piece called “Mother Earth”.
Three costumes garnered the most applause during the recycled fashion segment and they were worn by Faydeha, Annessa and Kataina.
Faydeha’s umbrella-bottom costume sparkling with fragmented CDs and aluminum foil and ruffled recycled paper, had a matching top hat accessorized with tin foil. Though bulky, the costume accentuated her figure. Annessa’s consisted of broken glass, broken CDs, garbage bags, old shoelaces and pieces of cloth. At first glance it looked elegant and it was almost impossible to believe it was made from recycled material. Kataina’s costume carried more of an African flair specifically in her headwear made from old newspapers. Her gown was made from old silk sheets covered in recycled newspaper woven into floral shapes that signified ‘The Garden City’.
Phelicia’s consisted of recycled newspaper, cardboard, CDs, plastic, pipes, bottles, shells and rocks. She carried a flambeau on her head that denoted the shining sun that enables growth of all things. Amelia’s was made from tyre tubes, bicycle spokes, CDs, plastic bags, wires and newspapers. It finished in a fishtail of newspapers and plastic bags and was accessorized with a crown made from coconut palm pointers. Cintiana’s was made from rice bags that gracefully flowed across the stage when she walked. Maricia’s recycled table plastic piece carried floral trimmings. Selena’s was modern Egyptian and African fusion made of denim, shells, plastic and flowers. The use of recycled renewable material for an industry that is typically considered disposable captured the spirit of what Miss Earth represents and demonstrated the will of those who wish to protect and care for the earth.
During the event, there was also a dramatic dance by Meleesa Payne-Bishop and Joshua. There were other performances by Anasha Dutchin, Jada’s Consultancy and Indira Itwaru. Towards the end of the show, several designers and persons who would have contributed to the pageant were presented with awards. Former teacher, dentex and television personality, Marisa Morgan-Bonie was the host.
The winner of the Recycled Fashion segment will be disclosed on coronation night, which is slated for Saturday, June 15 at the National Cultural Centre from 8 pm. Tickets cost $3,000 and $2,000.
