In less than two weeks, Faces of Gemini Modeling Institute will razzle and dazzle attendees during their first Fashion Wonderland, Fashion and Food Festival, which will be held at Coral World Ocean Park on March 1.
Business owner Chalaine Barry conceptualized the event because she said, there are “two things that I like, fashion and food.” She is using the event as a fundraiser to assist her models in participating in the International Model Talent Association (IMTA) convention in New York this summer.
“This event is a fundraiser, and I’m just trying to create a family event,” said Barry.
Barry said this is the first time she has put on a fashion show at a food festival. Before, she held two fashion shows at the Virgin Islands Montessori School and Peter Gruber International Academy. But this year, food and fashion are the focus.
Attendees at the event can also look forward to face painting, toy, candle, crochet, skincare, and clothing vendors. Food enthusiasts can look forward to items such as pates, soup, oxtail, and chicken dishes. A DJ will also be there to keep attendees entertained. And for all the vendors, Barry said they are providing a marketing gift for those who participate.
“We’re helping each small business because we’re going to help each of them create a 30-second video that I’m going to provide for them to help their businesses grow and use for social media. So that’s our give back to the vendors,” said Barry.
Interested persons can purchase tickets from Sole to Soul and Anoush 242 Gallery. Tickets are $40 for adults and $10 for children under 18.
This year, Barry’s models range from 16 to 30 years of age.
When asked what inspired her to start her business, Barry, who also owns Gemini Photography VI, said she got the idea to start her businesses from friends.
“I got my marine biology degree and I wasn’t finding a job and I didn’t want to go back to Coral World because I didn’t meet some of the qualifications for like, lifting stuff up,” she said.
She added that her friends sat her down to get her business license. She went back to school for photography, and after graduating in 2014, she opened Gemini Photography VI.
Barry said she was inspired to open Faces of Gemini Modeling Institute after photographing models at events.
“And then taking pictures at different modeling shows, and [seeing] the girls being ill-prepared, and seeing that nobody was training them, that’s where my modeling company came from,” Barry said.
Barry added that she wasn’t “a big person on modeling at the time”; however, she “wanted girls and guys to represent themselves better. So I just worked on public speaking and all kinds of stuff like that.”
Barry says the models she worked with further encouraged her to look into the IMTA, an organization that hosts conventions for models, actors, dancers, singers, and songwriters.
“Because modeling is not such an important industry here in the Virgin Islands, they’re going to the army, they’re going to college, and they never follow through,” she said, highlighting that persons in the territory usually seek careers other than modeling.
Barry says Faces of Gemini Modeling Institute is the only accredited school in the Caribbean right now. She hopes her models will travel to Paris and Anguilla this year. She added that they have participated in Summer Sizzle on Tortola and St. Croix for Jason Gardener’s VI Model of the Year, and last year, they competed on Anguilla.
Of the upcoming event, Barry said she is “excited for everyone to come out and have a good time.”
For more information, Barry can be contacted via WhatsApp at 340-998-4030 or by Facebook Messenger at https://www.facebook.com/
“It’s not just a fundraiser for us, but we’re also giving back a little bit to the community,” Barry said.
