Kushnie continues Mission
WITH season six of Mission Catwalk dubbed ‘The Celebrity Edition’, director Mykal Kushnie considers it the hit reality show’s most compelling.
The first of nine episodes airs tomorrow on Television Jamaica with 12 designers split into three teams, each headed by a popular personality.
“I had to sit with (creator) Keneea (Linton-george) and conceptualise the challenges for each episode based on what she wanted to accomplish. I also have to create the stories for each episode and create drama for the audience outside of designers competing to do the challenges,” Kushnie explained. “That is sometimes challenging as we try not to script what happens on set, but we’ve been doing it for a while now so we have developed somewhat of a formula.”
Kushnie has been with Mission Catwalk since the first season in 2011. His production company handles post-production work including editing and colour grading, as well as distribution of episodes to Caribbean media.
This season’s contestants are Renee Stewart, Kejuana Beneby, Mercy-ann Copeland, Collette Bryan, Cassandra Blake, Soshorna Henry, Daniel Dinnall, Moses Fennel, Rochele Spencer, Tonii Dyce, Stephen Bassano and Melissa Moses.
Their team leaders are dancehall star D’angel, comedian Quite Perry and disc jockey ZJ Sparks.
Linton-george is the creative force behind Mission Catwalk which has been a major hit for TVJ since it debuted seven years ago with Shenna Carby emerging as winner.
Novia Mcdonald-whyte returns for Season Six in her customary role of chief judge. Designer Carlton Brown is also a regular judge for season six.
Guest Judges are designers Lisa Aries and Camesha Powell, television host Emprezz Golding, stylist Kaysian Bourke, and public relations executives Tara Playfair-scott and Allison Moss-solomon.
Kushnie’s production credits include two other television ratings busters: Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall and The Contender. He admits Mission Catwalk was a bit of a stretch at first.
“I’ve never worked in fashion industry before but I do consider myself a little fashionista. I’ve actually designed clothing for myself but the cutting and sewing part still needs a lot of work,” he joked.