The advent of the 'Reality' model

[Deleted member 1957]

Just a few years back winning the next top model title or even taking part in any reality show ensured a permanent scar to ones high fashion career. Some promising girls like Anya and Raina didn't really make much buzz on the international fashion scene.
Fast forward to 2015 and girls from the American and other next top model franchises as well as other reality shows are making huge waves.
Girls like Amito, Kate G, Fatima, Gigi, Kendall and many others are being seen in all the fashion capitals as well as scoring some major print and video work. Has the fashion world changed its tide? What are your thoughts and who are your favourites?

 

[squilliam]

Just a few years back winning the next top model title or even taking part in any reality show ensured a permanent scar to ones high fashion career. Some promising girls like Anya and Raina didn't really make much buzz on the international fashion scene.
Fast forward to 2015 and girls from the American and other next top model franchises as well as other reality shows are making huge waves.
Girls like Amito, Kate G, Fatima, Gigi, Kendall and many others are being seen in all the fashion capitals as well as scoring some major print and video work. Has the fashion world changed its tide? What are your thoughts and who are your favourites?

I think the fashion world has become even more superficial and desperate. I do like Gigi somewhat. But if they wanna use these reality girls please use Allison Harvard and Raina hein from antm

 

[Deleted member 1957]

agreed some of the girls from those shows who don't make it look better than Gigi and Kendall. Remember Kendal from ANTm

 

[jacquelineo]

Or Elise!! Elise was amazing.

 

[Deleted member 1957]

I wonder whether she's still working in Asia. I've noticed that the fashion industry is more responsive to girls from foreign franchises

 

[Runabout]

The only rant I could give for this is that it is really unfair to have shows like, say, ANTM not having a big success as expected, even I read somewhere on the internet where Caridee, winner of ANTM Cycle 7, stated that the industry "doesn't take ANTM girls seriously" and that the girls associated with that one show are in fact "on the bottom of the industry, in contrast to the title 'top model'".

But at the same time, girls from foreign versions of NTM enjoy more success, even to an extent that they would spell terror to the runway circuits. Remember Ksenia Kahnovich from *ahem* You Are A Supermodel? Technically it isn't Russia's NTM, but it does adapt the format. And then we had Patricia van der Vliet from Holland's NTM who scares the crap out of a Godzilla with her gigantic quality of shows. Present day? You got Saara Sihvonen from Finland, Kate Grigorieva from Russia and Aamito from Africa. OH yes, for God's sake don't forget Suvi Koponen from Finland's Mallikoulu (sp?)

I just wanted that ANTM (and other neighbors of the same vein) can be taken seriously by the agents and that the girls are on equal footing as the foreign girls who enjoyed success, but at the same time I find ANTM as... too out-of-the-box / gimmicky. I know Tyra might have brushed this off a little in recent seasons but as I have already changed my stance to another non-reality TV shows I don't know how significant the transformation is...

But on a more positive note, I sense Brittani Kline to be the next one with great success and I wish for such thing to happen. And actually, before jumping to conclusions, I do acknowledge Fatima Siad's success, but for some reason I just wanted more girls like this.

 

[dsamg]

The only rant I could give for this is that it is really unfair to have shows like, say, ANTM not having a big success as expected, even I read somewhere on the internet where Caridee, winner of ANTM Cycle 7, stated that the industry "doesn't take ANTM girls seriously" and that the girls associated with that one show are in fact "on the bottom of the industry, in contrast to the title 'top model'".

But at the same time, girls from foreign versions of NTM enjoy more success, even to an extent that they would spell terror to the runway circuits. Remember Ksenia Kahnovich from *ahem* You Are A Supermodel? Technically it isn't Russia's NTM, but it does adapt the format. And then we had Patricia van der Vliet from Holland's NTM who scares the crap out of a Godzilla with her gigantic quality of shows. Present day? You got Saara Sihvonen from Finland, Kate Grigorieva from Russia and Aamito from Africa. OH yes, for God's sake don't forget Suvi Koponen from Finland's Mallikoulu (sp?)

I just wanted that ANTM (and other neighbors of the same vein) can be taken seriously by the agents and that the girls are on equal footing as the foreign girls who enjoyed success, but at the same time I find ANTM as... too out-of-the-box / gimmicky. I know Tyra might have brushed this off a little in recent seasons but as I have already changed my stance to another non-reality TV shows I don't know how significant the transformation is...

But on a more positive note, I sense Brittani Kline to be the next one with great success and I wish for such thing to happen. And actually, before jumping to conclusions, I do acknowledge Fatima Siad's success, but for some reason I just wanted more girls like this.

+ Cassie van den Dungen, she would have had even more international success if it wasn't for her erratic behaviour.

 

[saucer-like]

Reality television has become an institution in popular culture (American Idol was creating legitimate stars in the recording industry since the very beginning) that I think the fashion industry has simply adapted. It's the same for social media which has become an important marketing tool, so having power in that medium is a big selling point for models.

I don't think Kendall and Gigi can be grouped with contestants from modelling competitions regardless of any rtv stigma they may face. They have celebrity, riches and connections that undeniably afford them opportunities that NTM models would not get. There is a totally different incentive to book them due to their existing fame that a NTM model does not have. Maybe if some NTM model gained millions of social media followers from her stint on the show then it may be a fair comparison. Even then, I don't think it would be enough to open the same doors.

It could be that we're seeing more girls breaking into high fashion because there are just more editions of NTM and similar modelling shows presently. Most of these shows will only turn out 1-2 models who succeed in international high fashion but with so many more editions worldwide, altogether it seems like a phenomenon. I think the number of rtv models who make it versus those who don't is probably similar to the same stats for non-rtv models, if that makes sense. It's likely more favourable for the former.

Suvi Koponen won Mallikoulu in 2005 and was doing big things early in her career. Even for Alice Burdeu (debuted in 2008) and Patricia van der Vliet (debuted in 2009), their shows were only in the third and fourth seasons respectively. As well, there were popular waves of Australian and Dutch models at the time which probably helped. Things like trends which are out of a model's control should be taken into consideration. There's also Vanessa Hegelmaier (debut in 2009), Ksenia Kahnovich (started walking major shows in 2007) and Polina Barbasova (FW09 Givenchy exclusive).

While I think there is truth to the rtv stigma, it's a bit of an excuse. Frankly, many contestants lack in several areas to become professional models let alone in high fashion. Some of them just end up with the careers they have or none at all as a result, regardless of fans truly believing there is no difference between them and other models. As viewers get to "know" these contestants through the show and want them to succeed, sometimes this personal preference clouds objectivity IMO. Also from what I've seen, many fans are not fully aware of the industry's ugly realities. Drive is also a factor. It's one thing to be on a TV show and another to be a struggling model for months facing endless rejection. So they never fully commit even when they sign with major agencies post-show and likely move on to other interests in life.

Even if a girl ticks all the boxes and has passion, breaking into high fashion has never been an easy road. Model A could struggle for years whereas Model B (sometimes with practically the same look as Model A) becomes the next big thing. Who can make sense of it?

 

[Deleted member 1957]

I think with the American version its tricky for Tyra she has to choose between ratings and high fashion authenticity. A very high fashion show wouldn't have too many people watching as has been the case with shows like make me a supermodel or the face. There are some girls that have been on there and haven't had much success in mainstream fashion like Anya Rozova, Jourdan, Raina and Kendall

 

[saucer-like]

Raina has a boxy torso. Anya wasn't on par with the runway girls, she chose not to give into certain pressures and moved on from modelling. IIRC Kendal had some issues being away from home, relocating to a big city like NY wouldn't have worked out long-term. Jourdan tried modelling when she was younger and didn't get anywhere. Years later after winning the show, it seems to be the same story.

Sometimes that's just the way the cookie crumbles.

Amanda Ware had some success on the runway in S/S 12, but didn't get as far as other winners like Alice Burdeu or Montana Cox. So a lot of people wrote her off as being too plain for high fashion. Though I think most of that criticism was just personal bias because Amanda's look was not much different from girls like Mackenzie Drazan and Kate King who were doing really well. Fast-forward to F/W 14, Vanessa Moody is opening Alexander Wang & Balenciaga and is currently one of the top girls in the industry.

Often we try to attach greater significance to the random decisions made in fashion with indefinable concepts like "je ne sais quoi " and "IT factor" when it's really just luck.

elitemodel.co.uk, artandcommerceproduction​

 

[Runabout]

I think with the American version its tricky for Tyra she has to choose between ratings and high fashion authenticity. A very high fashion show wouldn't have too many people watching as has been the case with shows like make me a supermodel or the face. There are some girls that have been on there and haven't had much success in mainstream fashion like Anya Rozova, Jourdan, Raina and Kendall

This one. It's going to be hard for balancing both; focusing solely on ratings wouldn't make their contestants better and that the agents won't take them seriously, but at the same time focusing solely on high fashion will take its toll to ratings as people would come across them as "too bland of a TV show" and eventually, to an extent, getting cancelled.