Tami Chyn & Wayne Marshall tie the knot

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Dancehall couple Tami Chyn and Wayne Marshall got married at the Mona Lodge at UWI in Jamaica last weekend.

The two sing-jays were dress to puss backfoot (yu neva know islandista can chat patwa so eenh? ;) for the special occasion.

Tami bucked the white flouffy dress trend with a gorgeous gold coloured silk gown (the Jamaica observer called it 'metallic butter' boh) by family friend and  designer Dene Chung, which had a burst of gold and peacock organza on the  strap.

Wayne was dapper in a suit by one of Jamaica's leading menswear designers, Carlton Brown.

Even the bridesmaids had lovely dresses (which can be so rare for bridesmaids). They had some hot magenta coloured dresses (which perfectly matched Tessanne's hair actually) with slight variations on the design - Terrie's had a halter neck strap while Tessanne's was strapless.



Of course, there was singing - Wayne got singer Suzanne Couch to serenade his bride with Lifeline, while Tami's sisters Tessanne Chin and Terrie Williamson sang Songbird by Ava Cassidy, as their toast to the couple.

Congrats from Islandista to the happy couple!

Go dehhh! Sigail and Jeneil work London Fashion Week

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Just as we observed about the recent New York Fashion Week, the just-ended London Fashion Week was more colourful than in years past - though, unlike NYFW, London's colour was not as evenly spread out between shows.

There were still a lot of very snowy shows. However, there were also quite a few shows that really represented for the 'ethnic' models such as Nathan Jenden whose show was full of colour in both the dresses and the models, which brought some balance.

Which is all good news for islandista models and islandista fashion watchers.

Again, islandista models were spotted on the runways, though there was not as great a diversity as at NYFW.

But those that got work... got work and leading the fash pack for the Caribbean were Jamaican models Jeneil Williams (who was hardly seen at all during NYFW) and Sigail Currie.

Even though we spotted Sigail in more looks, we have to give the edge to Jeneil as we spotted her in more shows - six to Sigail's five. Plus, she opened the show for Paul Smith (as seen in the photo above) - a significant coup.

Check out some of their pics after the jump.

Islandistas out and about - Jourdan, Selita and ... Foxy?

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  She might be big pregnant but that is not stopping our favourite islandista model Jourdan Dunn, from making the scene during the Spring/Summer 2010 fashion season.



 

First, she was made an appearance for Vogue's big event, Fashion's Night Out in London and then she made it over to New York City for Fashion Week there and hung out  on the front rows and backstage with friends like Sessilee Lopez.

And now she's popping up at her hometown's own, London Fashion Week, taking in the Top Shop Unique(above) and Issa shows (below).

 

And it looks like pregnancy agrees with Jourdan as she is looking mighty perky in the cleavage department nowadays, especially in that Issa maxi dress.

Other islandistas have been out and about recently.

Caymanian Selita Ebanks made an appearance at the New Yorkers for Children charity ball last night in a gorrrr-geous yellow J. Mendel gown.

And on the less than fab side, Trini-descended former jailbird and (former?) rapper Foxy Brown surfaced at the VH1 Hip Hop Honours last night. Looking ... like this.

What precisely is going on here? Nobody could have told her this was cute. Damn it, Foxy.

Sugababes commess continues

Well ... that didn't take long.

Just a day after founding member Keisha Buchanan was kicked out of the Sugababes, the group was in the Santa Clarita desert outside of Los Angeles ... WITH new member Jade Ewen, shooting their next video About A Girl.

Jade ent even had a chance to recover from jet lag before she had to be hoofing it up in leather in the desert sun.



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Meanwhile, former Sugababe Keisha Buchanan tried to put on a brave face the other night in London, just hours after being kicked out of the girl group of which she was a founding member.

However, according to reports, she very publicly broke down in tears at a London Fashion Week party, sobbing that "it's too much" and that "everyone thinks she's a bitch" and had to be comforted by former Destiny's Child Michelle Williams and Oritse  Williams from British boy band JLS.

And of course, anti-Keisha rumours are already leaking out from 'sources close to the (new) Sugababes' , with someone telling the Daily Mail that Keisha offered them an 'Amelle or me' ultimatum and it backfired.

Hm... how convenient that these rumours are coming out when backlash is coming for ousting the only founding member left.

Trend alert: dark lipstick

Didn't we predict it?

Just a few weeks back, we mused that we may soon see the return of early 90s trends like dark lipstick and now, one of the key makeup trends for the fall 2009 season is ... dark, vampy lipstick.

Celebs like Kelly Rowland and Amerie were seen sporting dark, wine coloured lipstick at New York Fashion Week last week and Vogue magazine's September 2009 issue highlights the trend in an article and it is also featured on some models in their editorials.

And now dark lipstick has the fashionista/islandista stamp of approval - Rihanna has rocked the look two days in a row.

So go and dig out your dark lipstick and if you don't have it, go out and buy it!

You better work! Shena Moulton comes good at NYFW

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So New York Fashion Week has just ended and we're already on to London Fashion Week but we here at Islandista just wanted to big up island girl Shena Moulton who was one of the hardest working Caribbean models on the runways of New York City over the last week and some.

It seemed like Shena was popping up everywhere. Besides the Ports 1961 show which we highlighted in another post, she walked for some big names during NYFW, including Calvin Klein and Marc by Marc Jacobs.

Check out more of her work after the jump.

Sugababes passa passa

Lawd. The Sugababes in a mess.

Ever since Amelle Berabah pulled her disappearing act week before, rumours and commess have been flying around the long-lasting British girl group.

First, there came word over the weekend that Amelle had quit the group because of her unhappiness after her rumoured row with Keisha Buchanan.

Then word came that Eurovision contestant Jade Ewen was set to join the girl group to replace Amelle.

However, founding member Keisha said that there was no truth to that rumour, telling News of the World:

"It’s not true she’s joining. She’s a friend of mine but no, I’m not a liar.  It’s completely false that’s the honest to God truth. One hundred per cent.”

 “There’s the three of us in this band and no one is joining.”

 But... it looks like the only one who didn't know what was going on was Keisha as she has been basically booted from the group which she was a founding member of (and writer of many of their hits).

Not only that, Jade is joining the Sugababes... but to replace Keisha!

Today, came that news plus word that she will be leaving the group and going solo. Not that she sounds too happy about it...

She posted a message on Twitter which read:

 

'Dear Friends I'm sad to say that I am no longer a part of the Sugababes.

'I've had a great time and have achieved more then I ever thought I would. Although it was not my choice to leave, it's time to enter a new chapter in my life.


'I have nothing but positive things to say about the girls and I wish them the best of luck.


'I would like to state that there were no arguments, bullying or anything of the sort that lead to this.


 

 

 

'Sometimes a break down in communication and lack of trust can result in many different things.


'I would also like to point out that I have always supported the girls and they have also supported me.


'Remember my drunk pictures out with Amelle, supporting her on her success with Tinchy Stryder… Oh the shame… But what a fun night we had.


'Now I'm going to take some time to focus on me. I've been in this band for 11 years and I have achieved so much.


'I have a great family and friends who are behind me 100% and at the age of 24, I'm now going out into this world on my own…


'Although i'm nervous… I'm still very excited on what lies ahead.


'I want to thank the Sugababes fans and my fans for all your support and all who have never judged me, but accepted me for who I am… The feisty, funny, professional, fearless, motor mouth… lol

'This is not the end… but the beginning!!!!

 



'Thank you always… Keisha xxx'

Damn. Dey ent had to do you so, though Keisha...

Trend Alert: All black everything

Get y’all black tees up, all black everything

Black cards, black cars, all black everything.

How many times have we said ‘black is the new black’?

Well, get ready to hear it again and see it again because black is back in a big way, heavily influenced by the iconic lines in Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West’s smash hit ‘Run This Town’.

The all-black look is doing crazy rounds at New York Fashion Week with everyone from Ciara to the Simmons sisters to Rihanna herself rocking … what else… all-black everything.

There are many ways to wear all black and this particular black out look is more elegant gangster or edgy fashion stylist/editor than creepy goth.

Of course, the subtle sub-text underpinning all of this is Barack Obama’s presidency. After all, with a black man leading the most powerful nation in the world, it really is a time of ‘all black everything’.

Check out how many celebs have been wearing the all black look in recent days.

Islandista on the rise: Speech Debelle

Because we love to read stories about islandistas doing well and even better yet, doing well against the odds... today we bring to you... Speech Debelle.

Who's she?

Well, just the under-underdog winner of one of the most prestigious awards in British music - the Mercury Prize.

Her story is the break-out, fairytale story of this year's prize, which went down last week.

With just 1500 copies of her album Speech Therapy sold thus far, the underground rapper burst into the mainstream when she won the Mercury, which is given for the best album in the United Kingdom.

Speech Debelle came up as Corynne Elliot (so much more West Indian sounding, isn't it?) in South London. Her back story is unfortunately, not that unusual among British Caribbean people. She was born to Jamaican parents. Her father left her mother when Corynne/Speech was 6 years old. He went on to be the village (or council?) ram, having eight more children with six women.

Islandista designers at New York Fashion Week

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So besides all the islandista models that have been on the scene at New York Fashion Week, there are also a few islandista designers!

Former Jamaican top model Lois Samuels has turned her hand to designing and has brought out her first collection, The Vessel.

According to Samuels, her collection is inspired by both menswear and uniforms and the place they held in Jamaican society.

She told Fashion bombshell Adriana:

"I grew up in a society where having a uniform was so important. I think it gives calm to the chaos, and in a time like this you want to invest in something that’s multi-seasonal, comfortable, sexy, and not the fad–something that’s going to last."

You can definitely see the inspiration very directly in the looks -they are very structured and neat.

 



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We especially like the dresses she has done. You can see more photos from the show over at the Fashion Bomb.

Lois is not the only Jamaican designer at New York Fashion Week.

Islandistas working the runways at New York Fashion Week

Islandistas, do you know what's in style this season?

ISLANDISTAS!

That's what.

Maybe it's just us, but we are definitely seeing changes in the colour of the catwalks of New York Fashion Week. As you would know we have been tracking this for some time and the last season (Fall/Winter 09) definitely looked more colourful than it had in ... ever?

And it seems the trend is continuing. We have been poring through style.com to get an idea of how models of colour are being represented and thus far, we are pleased to report that out of the 32 collections we've reviewed thus far, all but four designers have included models of colour.

The four offenders so far are Preen, William Rast, Lyn Devon and Helmut Lang - though Lang might get a bligh since he only used two models and one was the Asiatic looking Russian Ranya Mordanova.

Anyway, these more colourful catwalks have been a boon to Caribbean models and there are islandistas all over New York Fashion Week. Honestly, we  have never seen so many.

And what is interesting is that it is not just the more familiar faces like Arlenis Sosa and Jeneil Williams that we are seeing popping up.

Check out more pics and the info on their island connections after the jump.

Video of Rihanna's comeback performance!

Rihanna hit the stage with Jay-Z and Kanye West last night at Jay-Z's huge September 11th memorial concert at Madison Square Garden, to perform Run This Town.

What a lot of people don't seem to realise is that this is actually her first performance since the Chris Brown beating incident back in February.

It had been touted for over a month now that her comeback performance would be on the season debut of Jay Leno's new show , also with Jay and Kanye to perform 'Run This Town'... but that performance is set for Monday, September 14th.

So last night was actually her big comeback.

And ... not bad. We all know Rihanna is no vocal wonder but for the most part, she manages to sound about as good as she does on the album and more importantly... she looks the part!

 

LAPD officers suspended for Rihanna photo leak

From the 'we knew it wasn't over' files...

Two Los Angeles Police Department officers have been suspended for leaking the shocking photo of Rihanna after her beating by Chris Brown.

We all remember the pic of Rihanna's battered, swollen, disfigured face.

Well, the LAPD was not at all happy that the pic was leaked and have been investigating it ever since.

And now, they seem to have narrowed in on two officers - ironically enough, both women. Tsk.

From the LA Times:

One of the officers, identified by sources as Rebecca M. Reyes, is a nine-year veteran of the department and was last assigned to the Wilshire Division. Her attorney told The Times that a search warrant in connection with the leak investigation had been served on her Los Angeles home.

 The other, Blanca Lopez, is a rookie officer with the Hollenbeck Division and was a housemate of Reyes, according to sources, who spoke on the condition that they not be named because it was an ongoing investigation.

Both have been “assigned to home” pending the outcome of the probe, according to the sources who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly about the investigation.

Sigh.

Islandista Fashion Notes - Fashion Night Out & Alex Burke's saucy dress

Oh islandistas, so much is happening right now in the world where islandistaness (yeh, just made it up), and fashion intersect, that we can scarcely keep up!

New York Fashion Week is on like boil corn and you know we will be giving you the news from the runways and red carpets.

And of course... the parties. Vogue did it big like only they can last night when they hosted the global Fashion Night Out (FNO) - a night of retail therapy, model mingling and retail recovery in every city and country where Vogue is published.

Naturally, some of our fashionista islandistas made appearances at various FNOs - Rihanna and Estelle were spotted at events for the New York City FNO while supermodel preggy Jourdan Dunn was at the London FNO.

Oh Ri-Ri, what have you done? Fools in the club are still stumbling around wearing those Kanye West shutter shades all two years after the 'Stronger' music video - now you give them this?

Sugababe Keisha Buchanan: I'm not a bully

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What a piece of passa passa... Sugababes' founding member Keisha Buchanan had to leap to well... her own defence today via Twitter.



 

This is after her bandmate Amelle Berrabah buggered off for several days-  to the point that her family feared she was missing.

And the rumour is that the reason Amelle went AWOL is because she had a huge row with Keisha over her UK No.1 collaboration with Tinchy Stryder (no, we've never heard of a tinchy either but the UK celeb scene is like a whole different world).

Anyhow, after Amelle skipped out on two back to back performances in London and Glasglow and couldn't be reached, her family feared she had been kidnapped and sent police to her home. The suss is that she told them she was fine but just needed to get away from the band after her big fight with Keisha.

However, Keisha has denied it all strenuously, tweeting:

A completely made up story about me bullying Amelle, not being supportive, blah blah blah...

'In the past, I've let members talk c**p about me and tried to laugh it off because I know the truth, my friends, family and MOST of all God...

'But not any more. I may come across as a hard nut sometimes, but I'm actually really sensitive and it destroys me to think that people today are going to read that and believe it.

'They see me as the longest standing member and assume that I'm the b**ch who causes people to walk, and its totally untrue and unfair. All I've ever done is work my a**e off, trying to keep the dream alive, because I love the fans and my job.'

The thing is, fellow Sugababe Heidi Range said since Wednesday in Scotland, that the real reason for Amelle's no-show was that a friend of hers had been in a serious car crash and Amelle was "broken up about it".

Jourdan Dunn 'in' and out of Fashion Week

For a brief moment, it looked like Jourdan Dunn, who is five months pregnant, would be walking the runway at the upcoming New York Fashion Week for the Spring/Summer '10 collections.

The news flew across the internet yesterday afternoon and this morning, when Models.com posted a picture of Jourdan's card, which was included among those for the season.

Fashionologie picked up on it and included the tidbit in a mixer post and then New York Magazine picked up on it from there and off it went, causing a temporary spike of excitement and speculation among fashionistas.

But ... it was all for nought.

Turns out Jourdan will not be walking this season. By 11 a.m. this morning, a rep from her agency Women agency, confirmed that Jourdan will not be appearing in any of the shows.

Move along folks! Nothing to see here...

Another soca mummy - Destra pregnant

Wha de jail...!

How on earth did we at islandista miss this?

Soca songbird Destra Garcia is joining the line of soca mummies as she is pregnant with her first child.

She revealed this in an interview with the Trinidad Express last week.

She told the Express she did not even realise she was pregnant for a while as she "always had a bit of an iregular cycle" and she had no morning sickness.

However, she did notice that she had become a bit more bountiful up top, as she had gone up by two bra cup sizes.

The father to be is her long-time boyfriend, Brian Morris, who is the sound engineer for her band, Atlantik. He says the couple is planning marriage to go with baby in the "not too distant future".

However, like the other soca mummies - Alison Hinds, Denyse Belfon and most recently, Fay-Ann Lyons, Destra does not seem to intend to stop performing.

At a recent show at Adam Smith Square in Woodbrook, Saucy Wow coached Destra on how to do de wickedest preggers wine, much to the delight of all the fans.

The baby is due in January 2010 - right, right before Carnival 2010 and it will be interesting to see how Destra copes with the public pressure that is sure to come to bear on her.

You know how we West Indians like to act like pregnancy is a illness that requires a woman to be bed-ridden.

In the meantime, we at Islandista offer our congrats to the mummy to be!