Designer to Represent Country in Poland

Talented designer and artist, Franz Christie, will be the first Jamaican to represent the country in the male pageant, Mister Supranational.

He leaves the island on Wednesday (November 15) for Poland, where he will be participating in the first leg of the competition, which starts on November 19.

The competition will take place in Poland and the Slovak Republic, while the finals will take place on December 2 in Krynica Zdroj, Poland.

The winner of the competition will receive the title, ‘Mister Supranational 2017’, a prize of US$12,000 and a modelling contract.

“I am ready to give it a shot. I am happy because it is the first time that Jamaica is participating, so all support from Jamaica is needed. Just show love, support and respect for the country,” Mr. Christie tells JIS News.

He says the competition provides an opportunity to showcase the beauty of Jamaica. For the competition, Mr. Christie had to produce a 60-second video depicting himself and his country.

Mr. Christie says the video has scenes of Jamaica’s first World Heritage Site, the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park inscribed to UNESCO’s world heritage list; the Reach (Reich) Falls and the Blue Lagoon in Portland.

Additionally, he notes that photographs were taken at other places of interest in St. Thomas and St. Ann.

“I don’t think they (foreigners) know much about what’s going on here, so we are trying to show off Jamaica in the video as much as possible,” he tells JIS News.

The fashion designer, who has been improving his skills in the creative industries, says at first he was a bit hesitant to participate in the event, which is in its second year.

“They (local organisers of the competition) have been asking me some two years, but I just wasn’t ready the first time. This year, I said I would give it a try. I was up against three other persons and they selected me,” he adds.

The contestants will be judged in seven categories. These are a photo challenge, video challenge, top model runway challenge, best physique, elegance and posture, behaviour and personality.

Apart from these challenges, Mr. Christie says there will be surprise extra points for other contests, such as swimming, cooking and best personality.

Mr. Christie, who has a passion for cooking, says he is eager to share some of the “Caribbean flavours”.

“Whatever I can gain from the experience, I will market my country and try to make sure that people are more aware… so, I am happy to represent,” he says.

One of his long-term goals is to set up a charity fund system. “It has always been something that I wanted to do, just to try and empower the youth, especially in the area of creativity. I am in the creative industry, so I know there is a need for some push,’ he argues.

Mr. Christie is a graduate of the London College of Fashion, the constituent college of the University of the Arts, London. He operates a sewing studio and showroom in Kingston and enjoys styling women and men “who dare to be bold with true elegance”.

Some 36 countries and territories competed in the first contest in Poland.