Bikini models: Church like any other venue

Models who walked down the aisle of the Trinity Cathedral during the Style Week fashion show last weekend said they saw no problem with the use of the church as a venue for the fashion show.

The models, who did not want to be named spoke with Newsday via WhatsApp and the phone and said there were no attempts to stop the show while they were walking. While some admitted they did not walk with the bikinis on, they said the show could have been stopped at any point of the three-day event.

“I think most models were thinking of it as just any other venue,” said a model. The model said she stood in the pews of the church while other models wearing skimpy bathing suits strutted along the aisle. She admitted while some people did not seem pleased, several others enjoyed the show.

She added that there were 15 designers at the show, with flowing, conservative clothes, and three-piece suits. She added that when some of the designers rolled out their lines, gospel music was played.

“But the only thing being talked about is the swimsuits,” the model said. “I didn’t think about it (at the time). When you doing a fashion you automatically assume there would be swimsuits but I didn’t think about it like I was doing it in a church.”

Newsday was told promoters were present at every section of the show. Even when the bikinis were being rolled out promoters looked on from the pews, a few rows away from the DJ’s booth. Other models said promoters “milked” the controversy to continue getting traction for the show and confirmed they received voice notes from one person, a man, encouraging them to remain quiet and enjoy the publicity.

“They have been sucking down all the publicity from the public fall out,” another model said. “In my opinion, they made the problem worse by the way they dealt with it when the public reacted. But come on, let's be real, should we really give the organisers all the blame? Without this public uproar no one would have known about the show and therefore milking the publicity was inevitable.”

“If it was an issue then they should have just apologised and be done with it. But saying things like get over it is just adding fuel to fire,” another model said. Models also complained of not being paid after being promised to be taken on as contracted models.