It was the joy of a mother that swept the ballroom at the AC Hotel Kingston on Sunday night.

Terry Ann Williams jumped for joy when her daughter Drucillah Campbell was announced as the Female Fashion Face of the Caribbean.

“I was iffing and butting about her winning. There were more awesome girls that were in the competition, and when I heard her name called, my heart skipped a beat. I had to jump because I have been there, and I hadn’t done what she has done. So, for her to be here and reach where she is, and the result that came of it, I am elated,” Williams told the Jamaica Observer.

The 16-year-old Drucillah, who attends Edwin Allen High School in Clarendon, had entered a pageant at that institution but nothing much came from that experience.

“Maybe it was the platform for her and when she didn’t get through,” shared her mother, “I was inspired to push her further. She had a message on her WhatsApp status that she would never enter another competition again, and a week later I called Saint International, and they said I should bring her in. The moment that Deiwght Peters [CEO of Saint International] saw her he said he wanted to work with her. The expenses were heart-wrenching to find it each Saturday to travel from Frankfield in Clarendon to Kingston for training. The journey has been rugged, but I don’t regret it,” said Williams.

Drucillah, a student of the sciences who has plans to become a medical doctor, said she never expected to win.

“When my name was called, I was so shocked. I never expected it,” she said.

Drucillah said her family has been supportive during her preparation for the competition.

“Especially my mother, she has been behind my back throughout the journey,” she added.

For 19-year-old T K Wilson, from Arnett Gardens, he beat more than 50 other competitors for the Male Fashion Face of the Caribbean title.

He was approached by someone who told him that he had the height, look and confidence of becoming a model. Those compliments helped in his decision to enter the competition.

“I am truly appreciative of this win. I am surprised and I don’t know how to explain how I feel. But really and truly, is God and time that did this,” said Wilson.

“A lot of work went into it, a lot of prayers, and a lot of failures. But I never gave up. I just kept it positive right through,” said the former Kingston High student who works at a BPO.

In the Avant Garde Fashion Designer of the Year competition Janseen Graham, who has been a fashion designer for more than 20 years, emerged as the winner from a field of 11 other designers.

“All the other designers encouraged me that this would be my year, so I did expect to win,” said Graham.

His design was in keeping with the Jamaica 60 theme.

“I wanted to do a two-in-one garment. That was the main inspiration, we said we’re to depict the richest of the Jamaican culture and I chose a print, the overall first look, then I wanted to do a wow factor and chose a red fabric,” Graham explained.

He added, “I am more of a freestyle when working on a garment and I wanted to wow the crowd.”