I Emote on Seeing Weston Haughton in Half-Way-Tree

 I Emote on Seeing Weston Haughton in Half-Way-Tree

Weston Haughton at 50th birthday of Karen Smith.
Gleaner PhotoThe moment he strode into the frame of my windshield, I recognized whose smooth stride was adding a touch of sophistication to the rush of single minded humans moving in linear fashion outside Jamaica National. I looked for the camara crew, because surely - this was a fashion out take - but there was none.

I saw him stride seven times, each one holding a tempo, his magnetism still able to pull the dreams of a woman into his aura and help her to shape herself into the person that she wanted to become.

In the 1970s and 1980s as a dancer and as a model, he dazzled international audiences, yet did not overshine his partner, because being on the arm of a willing woman (let’s say lady) is reason enough to enjoy a dance, or a walk.

Weston Haughton, organized events for schools, danced to help raise money for the church St Andrew Parish Church, St Luke Cross Roads and others, soon afterwards became a partner in beauty pageants and fashion galas for society ladies. As model, emcee, choreographer, each event was an opportunity to display conventional good taste with excitement. There were many sophisticated events, and through the newspapers, only photographs of well-known women were seen by the public, but for shows that he helped to produce, such as the AJ Fashion Follies with Carrole Guntley, the women attending felt that they too were a part of the catwalk company.

Doyennes of fashion brought him in to perform, and just as importantly, to help to plan. The dancer, the gentleman, the man who made the women in the room feel good about being themselves. Brides relied on him to plan not just for his glamour expertise, but because they wanted their wedding day to be filled with love and good memories. As the R&B singer Ne-Yo says, “Girl let me love you and I will love you until you learn to love yourself.”

“Do not let makeup hide your natural attributes” he would urge women and girls, and for Miss Jamaica Fashion Model Althea Laing he completed her first modelling application form himself.

My eyes followed his steps: performer, organizer, nurturer of talent, arbiter of good taste, then he went out of frame until he showed up in the wing mirror for three more steps. What would those steps define?

The left foot, heel to toe: dependability to deliver a pleasing show no matter how many times he did it before. Each new batch of women in a pageant worked with him creatively and he defended them as a national resource for Jamaica. The charm carried in their faces; their poised bodies; their ambition that commanded attention. His runway flock defined style of the 80s and 90s: Cathi Levy, Jaqui Tyson, Debbie Whittingham, Joan McDonald, Tanya McDonald, Bev Corke, Audrey Burgess Barrakat, Michelle Moodie, Sophia Max Brown and many more. The business around them was the fashion academy.  

The right foot: then he became more than fashion, he was high social culture: the Embassy for Venezuela entrusted him to execute the bicentennial  of their founder Simon Bolivar that also coincided with Jamaica 21. He helped to bring thousands into Disco Inferno for his coordination of the annual Grand Fashion Gala during the early years of the City of Montego Bay. With partner - another commanding lady with ambition - playwright Dahlia Harris, they have respectfully ushered in a new era for the Miss Jamaica World competition. In this new role, the master again worked his arts, bringing out the best in Toni-Ann Singh who dazzled the world with her spiritual take on beauty, becoming Miss World 2019.

There last step before he disappeared from my view that afternoon, in Half-Way-Tree, when only I and the red and orange bougainvillea flowers lining the pavement celebrated him in the bright sun. I think that he does it as a patriot, for the love of contributing to his country. Every woman, every girl is cherished, his shows were aligned themselves to a sweeter cause, helping the vulnerable in society, every one under his guiding hands and watchful eye and encouraging smile, can shape themselves into a star.