Mastering Showbiz – Moving to Fashion Productions

CONFESSIONS OF A GLOBAL GYPSY

Dr. Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena DPhil

President – Chandi J. Associates Inc. Consulting, Canada
Founder & Administrator – Global Hospitality Forum
chandij@sympatico.ca

Creating ‘The Fashion Model of the Year’

In showbiz, it is always easy to follow in the footsteps of others. However, I realized that doing something new and innovative, which will be known as the ‘First-ever in a country’ needed much more attention to details, planning, cue sheets and coordination.

From my occasional chats with Senaka de Silva, while in Oman, stemmed the first-ever ‘Fashion Model of the Year’ competition in Sri Lanka. A new show was conceptualized soon after we returned from Oman. Within six months, we created a new competition and a major finale show with Senaka as the choreographer, Le Galadari Meridien Hotel as the venue and host and myself as the Producer.

I was entering an area of showbiz for which I had no expertise, other than being an occasional model mainly for TV. Therefore, my partnership with the best-known choreographer in Sri Lanka, with various other artistic talents, proved to be fruitful. After a few rounds of brainstorming, Senaka and I decided that the first step would be to run a month-long training program for aspiring fashion models. Senaka would be the trainer and I would look after all of the logistics.

Sponsors, Recruiting and Training

I had good success during my first round of negotiations with the Sunday Observer newspaper and the national carrier, Air Lanka, who became the main sponsors. I entered into partnerships with a few other secondary sponsors. At a very early stage in the process, we announced in the newspapers what the winner of the ‘Fashion Model of the Year’ competition for 1988 would receive as her rewards, all of which were very attractive.

We confirmed that in addition to the trophy, the winner would receive a return air ticket to Paris, the fashion capital of the world, a one week stay at Le Meridien in Paris, study visits to the leading fashion houses in Paris, an expensive watch and a gold-plated crown, etc. In addition, we arranged many other prizes including return air tickets to Paris, Bangkok and Singapore, for the most popular model, the most photogenic model and runner-up models.

That did the trick! We received over 100 applications from young ladies aspiring to be fashion models and were willing to pay the hotel for their one-month long, professional training. Senaka and I selected around 60 applicants for an interview. After that we chose 36 to go through the training, knowing that we needed only a maximum of 25 fashion models for the final show. Each of those young ladies had to work hard to make it to the final 25.

Senaka is a very versatile, talented, demanding and strict model trainer. I was pleased to see how these young ladies blossomed every week in learning to talk, smile, walk, turn, and move with poise. They were also given useful tips on make-up, hair styling, trends of fashion in dresses, jewellery etc. Those who successfully completed the course were awarded certificates. After the competition was over about half of them became professional fashion models.

Key Partners

On Senaka’s recommendation, we recruited one of the best hairdressers and make-up artists in Sri Lanka – Ramzi Rahaman, and five, top fashion designers to be on our primary team. Eventually, each designer worked with five specific models to showcase their latest creations. Our fashion designers were: Cheryl Gyi, Lilian Pereira, Mangala Innocence, Nayantara Fonseka and Sharmini de Silva. All of them were friends, but a couple had a little professional jealousy issue, which is normal with highly creative people. The competitive spirit we instilled in them during the project, helped to enhance the creativity and with the success of the show.

While Senaka focused on the key aspects of fashion and catwalk model training, I concentrated on finding other partners for the show. Having been a judge for a few beauty contests etc., I clearly knew that a high profile and reputation of the judges were extremely important to any contest. I confirmed eight judges from eight fields. They included, Rosy Senanayake – former Miss Sri Lanka & Mrs. World; Swarna Mallawarachchi – award-winning film actress & former model; Khema – well-known classical dancer; and D. B. Nihalsinghe – award winning film director, cinematographer, editor & producer.

My recent experience in producing a dozen music shows with Sri Lankan entertainers, and café theatres with French, British and German showbiz personalities for Le Meridien was very useful. I carefully picked other professionals, such as comperes/hosts, musicians and specialists for sound, lighting and set creation. My regular and reliable partner in stage management, Kenneth Honter, was the stage coordinator. In addition to his key tasks, Senaka offered to perform as the lead dancer with his group (Senaka de Silva Dance Theatre) for three special acts in the show.

Promotion

With my team, I created a series of ‘newsworthy’ stories leading up to the day of the show. We arranged TV publicity for a mini show that Senaka did with the models after the final media briefing, held a week before the show.

The hotel dedicated one of its monthly newsletters for the show. Next to the show ticket sales desk in the lobby, I arranged a large poster with 36 photographs of the competing fashion models and one short tag line: “The Most Exciting Event of the Year!”

Production

On the final day of the event, for two hours prior to the start of the show, we held an exhibition of fashion dresses created by the five fashion designers featured in the show. This was held in the pre-function area just outside the ballroom, which was the venue for the show. This last-minute addition, encouraged keen attendees to arrive early and spend money on buying dresses, while sipping champagne and cocktails.

Our Show opened promptly at 7:00 pm as advertised, with a performance by Noeline Honter with a new original song that she had composed specially for the event – ‘Catwalk People’. Noeline was backed by the well-known musician Suryakumar, who did the arrangements for the song. Senaka’s dance routine enhanced the opening act. Including the 25 models, we had 54 persons involved in production and the performance side of the show. In addition, an army of hotel workers I led as the Director of Food & Beverage of Le Galadari Meridien Hotel, looked after the logistics.

At the end of the show, on the stage, I thanked Senaka de Silva publicly for his untiring efforts in developing the concept with me, training the models and his other professional contributions. He was the star! It was truly his show, to which I had contributed a little in leading the production and promotional aspects. In later years, in addition to being the trainer and choreographer, Senaka also became the producer of the annual ‘Fashion Model of the Year’ competitions and shows held at the same venue from 1991 to 1998.

Review

I did a complete review of the show the day after the event, comparing actual results with our predictions and estimates. In terms of the quality of the production, above board judging, classy entertainment, customer satisfaction and profitability, the event proved to be an outstanding success. Our breakeven point was only 372 tickets and we sold over 800. In addition, food and beverage sales before the show, during the intermission and after show, exceeded our expectations. The 24-hour coffee shop at Le Meridien was packed for late dinner that day with thhose present for the event. August 7, 1988 was a record-breaking Sunday for our night club – Colombo 2000.

I also made an analysis along with suggested improvements for future fashion events. I noted that expenses were mainly professional fees (40%), production cost and music (35%) and promotion and overheads (25%).

Thanks to many sponsorship deals that we successfully negotiated, the first ever ‘Fashion Model of the Year’ event in Sri Lanka was highly profitable and generated an unprecedented volume of free publicity for the hotel over a period of three months.

The very next day, I was happy to receive a personal note from Mr. R. Bodinagoda, the Chairman of the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (Lake House), which published many leading newspapers including the ‘Observer’.

The note included the following paragraph: “A line to congratulate you on a show extremely well done. You started exactly on time irrespective of whether certain important guests had arrived. The show itself went off smoothly without delays. The models came on correctly and moved well and all those responsible did a good job, for which you have to be congratulated.”

Six Years later in South America…

That 1988 experience in producing the first-ever ‘Fashion Model of the Year’ event helped me in other occasional fashion industry events I got involved in later years as a hotel General Manager in Sri Lanka, Guyana and Jamaica. One such event became the biggest fund raiser in Guyana up to 1994, when I produced a unique stage show themed: ‘Lights in the Forest’. That single show helped me enormously to have great public relations and mix with different levels of the society of Guyana.

In March 1994, I was recruited as an internationally mobile (expatriate) manager of the largest British hotel company at that time – Forte PLC. My first assignment with them was to manage two unique hotels in South America. I was the General Manager of the only five-star hotel in Guyana – Forte Crest Guyana Pegasus (later Le Meridien) and Timberhead – a leading eco-resort in the Amazon Rainforest.

A few days after I arrived in Guyana, I was invited to a house party in an affluent area of the capital city – Georgetown. A lady who sat next to me at dinner, introduced herself as Yvonne Hinds, the Chairperson of the Guyana Relief Council (GRC). Her husband was the Prime Minister of the country – Dr. Sam Hinds.

“I read about you in today’s Stabroek News. You have a colourful background. Apart from being a busy international hotelier, you are also an artist, published writer, award-winning composer and a stage producer. Can you produce high-level show to raise funds for GRC?” Mrs. Hinds did not waste any time in getting to the point. I knew that working with the Prime Minister’s wife on a fund-raising project would be an excellent, public relations opportunity for the hotel.

“Certainly, I can do that, madam. What is the role of GRC?” She answered me: “It is a charitable, non-governmental organization which renders assistance to anyone whose life becomes disrupted by any form of disaster. We like to provide 100% coverage for all house fires, which are common in Guyana, as most of our houses are built mainly with wood.”

Considering the need to be practical, I told Mrs. Hinds, “I would like to do a big show with an appropriate theme for Guyana. However, I arrived here from Asia, only three days ago. Therefore, I do not know anyone with connections and talents in Guyanese showbiz. I need a little time to get to know relevant experts in Guyana”

As I was attempting to get a little breathing space, a beautiful young lady, fashionably dressed, who was seated close to us said, “I will help you and introduce Chandi to relevant people here to produce a big show at the Pegasus.” Mrs. Hinds was quick to introduce the lady to me. “This is Supriya Singh, who did a lot of interior design work for the Pegasus. Supriya has returned home from her travels and studies in Italy, Canada and England. She will arrange all the assistance you need to produce your first show in Guyana.”

Supriya became my co-producer and helped me to recruit the who’s who of the showbiz and fashion scene of Guyana. Within four months of that chat at a house party, we produced a mega show themed, ‘Lights in the Forest’ in the style of a Champagne dinner theatre in the ballroom of Forte Crest Guyana Pegasus. It was a different experience compared to a normal fashion show.

Guyana is similar to the United Kingdom in land size, but most of the population of 750,000 lived on the coastal plain, which occupies about five percent of the country’s area. The rest of the country was virgin rainforest, a part of the Amazon, shared by eight countries. Therefore, protecting the rainforest was suggested as a major theme of ‘Lights in the Forest’ show.

In addition to showcasing the ethnic diversity of Guyana (Amerindian, European, African, Indian and Chinese), we included a deeper meaning of protecting mother nature by ensuring that development is done sustainably. In the last scene when a dancer performed as an evil force trying to destroy the rainforest (mother nature), I arranged for a dozen high commissioners/ambassadors/country representatives and/or their spouses to appear on stage in their national costumes. They held hands and formed a line.

The last person in the line was my wife in a Kandyan saree representing Sri Lanka. When she touched the palm of the dying mother nature, she miraculously came back to life. At that point, the evil spirit leaves the rainforest in fear of the world uniting to protect mother nature. The show ended there and received a standing ovation by all present.

The diplomats and locals loved the theme and the production of the show. We presented it without any spoken words, but with subtle background music and dances reflecting different ethnic populations of Guyana. That night, through show ticket sales, we raised G$820,000 for GRC, which was an all-time record in Guyana. A week after the show, my superiors from the United Kingdom (Managing Director and Regional Vice President) were invited to accompany me to present a cheque for G$820,000 to Mrs. Hinds, at the Prime Minister’s residence.

Guyana’s President – Dr. Cheddi Jagan and Prime Minister – Dr. Sam Hinds insisted that I join the head table during the dinner and show and sit between two of them. During my two years in Guyana and subsequent assignments in the Caribbean, they both, as well as their wives, continued a warm friendship with me.

In 2000, I published my first article in a double peer reviewed, academic journal. That Le Meridien experience in the mid-1980s strongly shaped my attitude about international hotel management. In that ‘viewpoint’ article, I stated: “International hotel management is similar to ‘Showbiz’. It is hard work, lots of practice, and (well planned) fun! Eventually the success of a show or hotel’s operation is measured from the profits. The creativity and public relations of the manager and his/her team have to be translated to profits. Hotel management is a profitable art.”

Jayawardena, C. (2000), “International hotel manager”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, UK, Vol.12 No 1, pp. 67-69.

I was always treated as a fellow Guyanese by many of my friends in that beautiful country. In 2007, on an invitation by then President of Guyana – Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, I became a consultant to the government of Guyana. The important task entrusted to me was to open the largest hotel in that country – Buddy’s International Hotel (now Ramada Princess) as the Hotel Opening General Manager and to host the Rio Summit of Heads of State and Government, and VIPS attending the World Cup Cricket 2007. In 2023, I happily accepted an invitation by the University of Guyana to join the Editorial Board of their first refereed journal on Tourism. People meeting people, and establishing life-long friendships is the most beautiful aspect of Tourism.