Jeneil Williams exposed

[caption id="attachment_2071" align="alignleft" width="228" caption="Photo credit: Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott for LOVE Magazine"][/caption]

Jamaican model Jeneil Williams let it all out in both LOVE magazine and the Pony Ryder blog recently - in two very different ways.

The LOVE exposure was of course, part of the editorial she shot for the magazine as one of the eight cover models they chose for the issue.

And in Pony Ryder's interview, we got a glimpse into Jeneil's life and personality.

We've got both for you.

Jeneil on her childhood in Jamaica:

"It was hard; I was forced to grow up really fast."

Jeneil on living in the Big Apple:

"When I first got here it was really amazing because it was my dream to get an agency in New York City. My mother agent took me around to meet with all of the agencies in New York and I ended up signing with New York Models – who I had met with in Jamaica during the model contest. I love my agency and New York. I have met incredible people and love this city!"

[caption id="attachment_2072" align="alignright" width="226" caption="Photo credit: Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott for LOVE Magazine"][/caption]

Jeneil on her body and beauty rituals:



 

No I owe most of it [my body]  to track and field; I used to do track back in high school.... I do pilates now to tone up at least twice a week.

I cleanse and exfoliate everynight and I use a facial mask every now and again. I love Jergen’s lotion with a mix of Johnson’s baby gel.

There is lot more of that over at Pony Ryder where you can find the full interview.

[caption id="attachment_2073" align="aligncenter" width="217" caption="Photo credit: Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott for LOVE Magazine"][/caption]

New islandistas @ New York Fashion Week

[caption id="attachment_2001" align="aligncenter" width="395" caption="New islandistas on the catwalk (from left) Sedene Blake, Reina Montero and Chrishell Stubbs"][/caption]

 New York Fashion Week (Fall/Winter '10) started on Thursday and so far it's been pretty good, islandista-wise. 

For the last NYFW (SS '10) we counted 10 islandista models (and one islandisto in the form of yaadie Tyson Beckford) walking the runways for 22 different designers. 

Thus far, the count is at the same 11 (including those new faces we're going to tell you about) for 19 designers so far.  

The expected names have been out there - Jamaica Jeneil Williams walked for Costello Tagliapietra, Dominican Arlenis Sosa walked for Nicole Miller and fellow Dominican Rose Cordero walked for ... everyone - we've counted six shows so far, including Doo.Ri, Jason Wu and Ruffian. 

Alongside new Sudanese-Australian wunderkid Ajak Deng, Rose has been the busiest black or brown model out there. 

However, one islandista newcomer is matching Rose so far, show for show. Read on for more.

Model behaviour: Naomi for Haiti, Jeneil's nude cover & more

[caption id="attachment_1964" align="alignleft" width="250" caption="Photo credit: Vogue.co.uk"][/caption]

Islandista born and descended models have started 2010 as busy as they were in 2009.



The queen of them all, Brit-yaadie Naomi Campbell has been working hard at putting together her annual Fashion for Relief show, which will benefit Haiti this year.

She is teaming up with Sarah Brown, wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown for the show which will take place during London Fashion Week.

Thus far, Naomi has brought on fashion friends Dolce & Gabbana, Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood for the event which takes place on February 18th.

She was out and about this week doing interviews and photo calls for the event.

Say what you want about Naomi (and yes, there is nuff to say) but her heart is as big as her temper. She has always worked hard for charity causes.

In more islandista model news, fellow Jamaican models Jeneil Williams and Jaunel McKenzie are going hard for 2010 - already. More on their blazing start to 2010 when you read on.

Go dehhh! Sigail and Jeneil work London Fashion Week

[caption id="attachment_1511" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Running tings... Jamaican models Jeneil Williams (left) and Sigail Currie (right) on the runways of London Fashion Week./ Photo credit: Style.com"][/caption]



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 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.

Jeneil rocks NY Fashion week & Michelle's bare arms

Islandista Jeneil Williams has been making some serious moves in the world of fashion recently. Besides being in the now-legendary all-black edition of Italian Vogue last summer (along with fellow islandistas Naomi Campbell, Jourdan Dunn and Arlenis Sosa) and being the face of the campaign for the Bluetooth 'Jawbone', she tore up New York Fashion Week, opening three shows and walking in several others.



[caption id="attachment_735" align="aligncenter" width="320" caption="Dark and lovely: Jamaican Jeneil Williams opened for the Zero + Maria Cornejo show at NYFW. (photo credit: style.com)"][/caption]



 She opened for Diesel, Zero + Maria Cornejo (a favourite of US First Lady Michelle Obama) and Richard Chai.

 She also walked for Elise Overland, Vena Cava, Ideen, Juan Carlos Obando, Don de Verb and the Project Runway finals, which is always a major NYFW event.

In other news (sorta) people are getting all hysterical because Michelle Obama has (gasp!) been wearing sleeveless dresses. She wore a gorgeous deep purple Narciso Rodriguez dress for her husband's first address to Congress which prompted several hissy fits among fashion arbiters who deemed it 'inappropriate' for the occasion. Huh?

[caption id="attachment_730" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Scandal them, Mrs.O!"][/caption]

 They became even more hysterical when the First Lady followed that up with a series of other sleeveless looks in short order, including a White House concert for Stevie Wonder, a People Magazine cover and a White House dinner.

Then she really flipped them the bird when she wore a sleeveless black Michael Kors shift for her official White House portrait photo. Quelle horreur!

Her friend, White House social secretary Desiree Rogers even had to wade into the debate, telling the Washington Post that Mrs. Obama's feeling on it is:

 If I want to wear no sleeves to hear my husband speak, that's what I'm going to do."

Wha, alright then - damn right!

This debate is frankly ridiculous to me. None of the tut-tutters can pinpoint exactly what is so scandalous and inappropriate about Michelle's bare arms. Have arms become an erogenous zone? Not unless we are in Taliban-era Afghanistan. Some have muttered about it still being winter but she's been wearing the outfits INSIDE! It's not like she's out shovelling snow in a shift dress.

This is really pissing me off because I could easily see this being a debate in the Caribbean, where despite our penchant for Carnival and dancehall bashment outfits, we are also deeply conservative about dress. Workplaces in the Caribbean that allow people to wear sleeveless outfits are probably the exception, not the rule, despite the fact that we live in a TROPICAL CLIMATE all.year.round! When it's 32 degrees celcius outside in August, wearing a shift should not be a matter for HR to get their knickers in knot about - it's not even a damn fashion statement then, it's just practical!

Whew. Had to get that rant out there.

However, amidst the ridiculousness, she's also had her defenders, including Letitia Baldridge, social secretary to former First Lady Jackie Kennedy (who also had a thing for sleeveless dresses) and Harper's Bazaar editor-in-chief Glenda Bailey who succintly pointed out that critics are no doubt somewhat envious that Michelle can pull off the bare arms look so elegantly. Shoot, I'm about half her age and I'm a bit envious - my arms don't look like the First Lady's. But I ent gine hate. In fact, I am rooting for Michelle's bare arms statement - if the First Lady of the United States can get people to get over their phobia of bare arms, maybe the time will come when I won't have to swelter in a jacket or long-sleeved shirt in August and September.

Islandistas in Italian Vogue's all-black issue

(photo credit: New York magazine)

So every fashionista worth a damn has been buzzing about Italian Vogue's all-black issue which came out this week.

We all know how hard it is to find women of colour in the fashion industry - whether on the runways or in the editorials. And there has been a lot of debate and hand-wringing about it in recent times. Everyone agrees it's terrible but no-one quite seems to know where to point the finger... perhaps because they are trying to make sure it's not aimed at them. Is it the editors? Is it the designers? Is it the advertisers? Is it the readers?

Anyhow, Italian Vogue editor Franca Sozzani and photographer Steven Meisel got together and decided now was the perfect time to make a real statement about this. Sozanni was fascinated by the candidacy of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama (can we claim him as an islandisto since he was born in Hawaii? :) I mean it's not the Caribbean but still...) and Meisel had long been frustrated with running up against brick walls when he would push black models for shoots.

So they did the damn thing with several islandistas making the cut. Naomi Campbell (of Jamaican parentage) of course led the charge, as one of four models on the fold-out front cover. Fellow Brit and suspected islandista by extraction (I am so sure this girl is of Caribbean parentage or grand parentage - black, British, with an Anglo last name? Sounds like a West Indian to me but being that she's relatively new on the scene I have not found any confirmation as yet) Jourdan Dunn is also featured on the cover.

Jamaican model Jeneil Williams (of Caribbean fashion powerhouse Pulse) is on the inside.

Personally, I think the editors of American, British and French Vogue in particular should HANG THEIR HEADS in shame that the editor of Italian Vogue beat them to this. After all, Italy has a black population of less than 1% whereas the USA, the UK and France all have significant black populations. Why should Italian Vogue have been the first one to confront this ugly issue when these editions all have much larger black populations?