Paula Lindo – Our histories, stories, present, future.

Today’s episode was a look back at the competition thus far.

There were flashes of issues that would come up later in the competiton, like Yugge performing for the cameras and the other girls

We take a look back at our journey and find out a little bit more about all of our models, including the two finalists, including never-before-seen footage

The journey started with auditions from across the Caribbean, starting with Jamaica, then Trinidad & Tobago. Even then, Yugge felt confident about winning the competition. Girls spoke about being examples for people to look up to and shared why they thought they were models.  Next was the Cayman Islands, where we met Sydney for the first time and she revealed that she’d been doing the Cayman Islands Fashion Week every year. The final audition was in Barbados.

We also had extensive online auditions which allowed girls from across the region to send photos and information and be included in the selection process. The top 15, plus a wildcard, were then brought to Barbados to see who would become Caribbean’s Next Top Model.

Yugge said she was excited for the opportunity because she had been wanting it for a long time and never got it. She said she flew to T&T when she saw the advertisement to audition and she gave away everything she did not travel with and gave up her apartment because she said she wasn’t going back home, she was going to win.

Sydney said a friend of the family who’d seen her modeling for years suggested she go up for CNTM, and she was also encouraged by her friends and family. Nicoya said Ayana stood out to her the most during their catwalk. Ayana said everyone at home supports her and wants the best for her because they know she loves modeling and fashion and it was something she worked very hard at over the years.

Linda said she’d focus on doing a great job and believes she’ll do a great job if she’s really focused on what she has to do and be very confident and consistent. Carol-ann (Barbados) said when she saw her fellow contestants walking, she felt she could have done a better job. Shenelle (T&T) said she thought she put her best foot forward. The girls liked the photographer, Pedro Virgil, even though some of them were more nervous than others.

Then came the first elimination, where 11 girls were chosen out of the 16. After that came the first challenge with Lene Hall, followed by their makeovers and photoshoot. The makeovers left the girls in tears, some more than others. Yugge said she looked ratchet, and like a boy and she hadn’t wanted to cut her natural hair, but later she said she actually did like it and was just complaining so the girls would think she didn’t. Nicoya saw through her right away and said she came across as very disrespectful, so she and Ayana decided to talk to her about her attitude, and the drama began from there. After telling Yugge she was arrogant and uncalled for, Nicoya said Yugge’s change of expression made her ask if she was OK, which led to Yugge calling Nicoya fake. Nicoya said she was just trying to address Yugge up front about her attitude and give her some advice, rather than talking behind her back.

Yugge said the girls turned on her but she didn’t really mind that they were getting hot on her, she was just going to keep cool because it was only going to get them hot in the competition, while her remaining calm would only be good for her.

Kittisha explained why she fainted during the first judging panel: she hadn’t eaten breakfast, or indeed, anything, that day. She said she’d normally have a snack in hand but hadn’t brought any along, in addition to which it was hot, so she felt really weak.

Ayana said she prayed before the first panel and included Yugge in her prayers, asking for her to change. This was quite ironic because this panel was the one where Yugge got roundly chastised by host Wendy Fitzwilliam for playing to the camera. Nicoya was glad that Fitzwilliam pulled Yugge up because she thought she needed a reality check and she was glad that Wendy noticed it and maybe Yugge would take it seriously and know where the girls were coming from. However, Nicoya said, by the end of the night when they had a discussion about how she felt aboout what Wendy said, it didn’t seem to have sunk in. Kittisha was also happy to see Yugge get chastised, because she thought Yugge’s performance had made the production seem as though they didn’t know what they were doing.

Mackella admitted she cried when she found out that she and Yugge were going to be roommates, and Yugge said she didn’t like her at first but after they began talking, everything was all right.

The next challenge was the character portrayal where the models were dressed in straw blond wigs, followed by the gold photoshoot, with Kittisha, Sydney and Ayana expressing confidence in how they did. The paddle-boarding challenge and swimsuit photoshoot were next up. Richard Young reminded the girls that they were to use the lessons they learned during the challenge to help them in the shoot. Ayana admitted she wasn’t good at being sexy so just wanted to get the shoot out of the way.

Ayana began to get on the nerves of the girls, who said she was annoying, talked too much and wanted to make decisions for the rest of the girls. Linda was upset that she made a joke about Kitty being anorexic, but still thought she was smart and knew what she wanted. Ayana defended herself saying that she’s not going to tell Kittisha she’s too skinny and she needs to love the skinniness that she has.

Next was the go-see challenge, with the models going to see local designers and strut their stuff. Kittisha said she loved the challenge, while Linda said it wasn’t easy because they only had one hour to see three designers. Sydney enjoyed the process overall, and she and Lia got to see three designers and got back on time. There was conflict in Yugge’s team, as she and one teammate wanted to get back on time, while Ayana wanted to stay and finish the go-see. However, when they got back to the house, Yugge said she thought they would have been judged on being on time, but no mention was made of it, so the argument was for nothing, she said. Overall she liked the designers and some of their pieces.

The photoshoot that followed tested the models’ limits, as they had to pose with a snake as part of an advertisement for a jewelry collection. Linda and Nicoya said they had more difficulty than anticipated with the snake itself.

The girls then did their first paired photoshoot where they posed as dominatirix and submissive under the direction of actress and motion capture artist Dani Swan. Nicoya thought Swan was too aggressive in her direction and found it odd that she knew exactly what she wanted, while Linda found her to be very professional and Ayana said she was very assertive

In reminiscing about their support systems, Nicoya said her boyfriend was her best friend, as well as someone who would correct her if she was wrong and she missed him a lot. Yugge said she was a traditional person and hoped that by the time she was 30 or so, she would have a family with a guy, but wasn’t preferential when it came to gender. She said she preferred girls who looked like models but weren’t and guys who were tall, well-proportioned, good-looking with a nice personality.

The controversy over Kittisha winning best picture with the simple pose that she did was again highlighted, with Ayana saying Kittisha couldn’t manage to do the more complicated poses she was given, which is why she did the simple pose that won her best photo, which was unfair, while Nicoya said she could have done that pose and won, and Kittisha saying she always congratulated the person who got best photo so she couldn’t understand why everybody was vexed when she won.

In the next challenge, the girls learned to walk tall on stilts, and posed in beautiful Carnival costumes. Nicoya said her favourite costume was the turquoise and fuschia one worn by Ayana. She said she’d never played mas before, as she’d normally watch the bands or stay home and lime with friends. Kittisha said she thought Nicoya’s poses were simple and she didn’t really go out of her comfort zone.

Nicoya said she didn’t feel awkward shooting with Ayana because they supported each other and high-fived each other after a shoot. Linda said she didn’t think they had a strategy to become the finalists, just that they were really close.

The following week, the girls had a lesson in how to be a brand ambassador, followed by a catamaran shoot with photographer Jo Lance. We saw where Swan, who came back for the teach, told the girls how to ‘block’ their scripts to remember them better for presentations. Nicoya said she had more of a problem with the second part of the photoshoot as compared to the first, as she wasn’t able to give her best in the position she was put in and because she thought Lance was mean and she couldn’t read him to know if she was doing well or not. Ayana said the photoshoots were confusing because there was no clear direction as to what they were looking for but she thought it went well overall. Kittisha said she was happy to get a second chance but she was feeling a bit seasick and she hoped it didn’t show on her face. Linda said she had a fun time and she thought the other girls did too, because that’s what it’s all about and doing a good job.

Nicoya said she was shocked at first to hear two girls were going home but she thought she did well. Kittisha said Nicoya was a little upset and angry because of the way Lance was talking to her and saying that her poses weren’t good, and even though he was saying wonderful, she said there was a point where everyone went silent, as if she wasn’t doing what they wanted so they just left her to do it on her own. Ayana said she didn’t dislike Lance, but just thought he was tougher professionally than some of the ones she’d encountered before, which was completely fine with her. Linda felt like she gave her all, and said she always wanted to feel like she did the best job that she could and because she knew Lance from before, she also wanted to do her best because he expected it of her. She felt confident and fierce and the outfit helped her to embrace her character.

Coming down to the elimination for the final two, the girls were sharing a cold, which Ayana said Linda got from Nicoya, who’d had it from the beginning, and it spread easily because Linda used to have the AC very cold. Kittisha was the only one not to get it.

Following panel, two girls were eliminated. Fitzwilliam said the remaining two would continue on this crazy amazing journey to become Caribbean’s Next Top Model. In the end, Kittisha and Linda were chosen by the judges to move forward, while Nicoya and Ayana were sent home.

Kittisha said they didn’t even know who was going home because everyone had a great picture, and there wasn’t even a best picture. Both her and Linda were overjoyed to have made it this far in the competition.

And then, there were just two. Kittisha shared that she had been teased for being tall in school, but in Form Five someone said she looked like she belonged on the cover of a magazine, so after she left high school, she tried it and realized she had a knack for it.

Linda said when she was studying in the Dominican Republic, she was asked to do a runway show for a designer and then when she moved back to Puerto Rico, she did their Fashion Week and continued from there.

Linda said she’s a very happy person who likes to take risks and go for what she wants, which is why she entered the competition, to pursue her dreams of being on the best runways around the world. She said she’s very persistent and very focused. Linda said her family is very excited for her, especially her mother who has traveled with her to auditions in the Caribbean and overseas “because she has a lot of hope for me and knows I have the potential.”

Kittisha – “I’m funny, I’m creative, a little spontaneous, sometimes I’m a little crazy. I have 13 brothers and sisters and I have to show them that they can become somebody, so that’s what’s pushing me to be here.

Linda “What will help me to become Caribbean’s Next Top Model is the focus I have. I’ve been working on my personality, and I’ve been a performer, because I also dance, and I like to be involved in the performing arts and I think the confidence I have from that experience of modeling and dancing, that will help me to win this competition. I almost gave up last year after I moved to New York to pursue my dream but had to return to Puerto Rico because I couldn’t get along with the relative I was living with. I’m really close with my family and being away from them, them not being able to see me and be there for me, that’s going to be a little bit hard.”

Kittisha – “Grenada doesn’t really have a fashion culture, they just pick up anything from any country. It’s more known for its food and spices, which gets on my nerves because I want us to have something, make something of our own but we’re not getting the attention that we need so I want to bring the spotlight to our country. I wasn’t expecting to get accepted and I’m amazed that I was, so I have potential don’t I? I never expected this, one day I’m in Grenada, next day I’m in Barbados and in a competition and in the final two. That means I’m not just sitting around and I’m actually going after what it is I want.  There was a time when I supported my little sister, we were really close and I used to get in trouble for her because she was more rebellious than me, but we drew apart and I can no longer be there for her and put my life on hold to help her unless she really needs it, because I don’t know what she wants from life.”

Linda said she thought the girls would have to do a fashion runway show as their final challenge, as they did a class with Richard Young but hadn’t done anything like that since, and she was really excited for it.

Kittisha said she had no idea whatsoever what might be coming next, but said to “bring it.”

Fitzwilliam said the final places the most positive and professional lady head-to-head with the most experienced raw talent. “Linda has kept her eyes on the prize throughout and focused on her own performance. Kittisha, in spite of the ups and downs and the taunts from her fellow competitors on occasion, has had a steely resolve to improve week after week.

According to Wikipedia, Episode 11’s title was All I do is Win Win Win

Original Airdate: December 22, 2015

The final two models have a high fashion photo shoot on The Pier at the Radisson Aquatica to prove their ability to do editorial for noted Caribbean magazine editor, Mae Wayne in the elegantly detailed and beaded couture collection of Puerto Rican designer, Sonia Santiago. The finalists are then challenged to strut the runway in the high fashion collections of Barbados’ most recognised and versatile designers going from avant garde to island chic in minutes. The winner emerges and the Caribbean’s Next Top Model is Kittisha.

Guest judge: Mae Wayne

Final two: Kittisha Doyle & Linda Mejia Torres

Caribbean’s Next Top Model: Kittisha Doyle