The Tribune

It Is a dream come true for 17 year old Patricka Ferguson of Grand Bahama Island, and 21 year old Lacarz Brown of Nassau, the winners of the 2013 Supermodel of the Bahamas competition. They travelled to Canada to walk the runway at Vancouver Fashion Week.

“They’ve been thrown in at the deep end, and this is exactly what I want them to experience,” said OilinSha Coakley of OilinSha’s Model & Talent Management. “This is the real deal and the life of a model is ever changing and demanding.” Each day Lacarz and Patricka must attend rehearsals and auditions for the myriad of international designers, to find out if they’ve been chosen for the next day’s shows.

Opening day rehearsals had both models quickly chosen by a designer each to wear a signature piece for the opening night gala (designer preview), but as things can happen in the fashion industry, both of their designers happened to be among about four that did not show up that night. Putting disappointments aside the models donned their Supermodel of the Bahamas sashes and enjoyed the evening, creating a stir among the fashionistas present,

Patricka Ferguson garnered compliments wearing a sparkling blue dress by Bahamian designer Deseria Bascome, who also travelled in to enjoy the show and support the young models.

The opening night gala did not disappoint. The sellout crowd enjoyed a peek at what is to come over the days ahead, and local celebrities, among them, the Real Housewives of Vancouver enjoyed the cameras and networking.

After a 12 hour schedule, the night ended with an interview on-camera with both Supermodels of the Bahamas, and the tired entourage left to travel back to their lodging and debrief on the day’s events with their agent. The models learned much from their day. Last night Patricka was scheduled to walk for Sara Roka (Italy-Canada) and Elfer Castro (Peru).

Supermodel of the Bahamas was founded by Oilinsha Coakley, owner of Oilinsha Models and Talent. Similar to America’s Next Top Model, the agency discovers new faces. The candidates are then trained for the life of a model.