Why is the American Version of Top Model So Bad?

[Fiercification]

The prize changed from Elle to Seventeen, so that is why Gilles Bensimon was no longer required to be a part of the show from C7 onwards

 

[Ella Petrovsky]

^ thanks!

 

[weathergirl]

The prize changed from Elle to Seventeen, so that is why Gilles Bensimon was no longer required to be a part of the show from C7 onwards

Wasn't aware not in the least about this tiny tidbit! Thank you for sharing

 

[icelynn]

I'm watching ANTM right now on MTV. Not sure what cycle it is (it's with naima) but the photoshoots are just...not high fashion. They remind me of Model Mayhem. Tyra's antics are so annoying and hypocritical, she expects the girls to be professional but still have an amazing personality but they can't have too much but if they don't have enough they'll leave, they need to dress sexy, not too sexy, stylish not too trendy etc. and then she'll say things that are very, very unprofessional, very unrelated to whatever is going on. In the end, Tyra doesn't contribute to any "model wisdom" and they learn nothing from her, and sadly she's the main part of the show.

They focus on things that don't matter and ignore some of the things that do. For instance, fashion style. If a young, 5'11, 34-24-34 girl walked in to IMG with an amazing face, but her style wasn't fashionable/stylish/trendy etc, do you think they would let her go because of that? NO! But if Eva walked in 5'5, (whatever her measurments, Wikipedia says 32/23/32 but there's no way) with her average face, but AMAZING fashion style would they offer her a contract? Uh no, they wouldn't. Height matters, face matters, measurments matter...not fashion style. Afterall, a model is showcasing a designer's clothes, not their own.

 

[Mchunu]

^karma!

 

[modelista]

i was looking for a place to vent some antm frustration & i just stumbled on this thread i've been a watcher of antm since it started cuz i looooove models & am currently watching the "all-star" season & i'm thinking about giving it up..it's funny to think that THIS was the thing that started off the whole "top model" franchise & it's probably the least credible out all the ones out there.. girls from other countries seem to make it big (wasn't Patricia van der Vliet on a top model show in europe)

1) i think having Tyra hosting is probably one of the biggest issue she is too self-centered no matter what ANY one says.. what really makes her qualified to judge how the industry would react to these girls when SHE wasn't really in the industry to begin with?!?! she had a very short span doing high fashion & her career was mostly doing commercial stuff it's my personal opinion that she wasn't even the most indemand one of her time she was famous cuz of VS & SI & her willingness/eagerness to jump in front of a camera & prattle on & on

2) if they really want/have to have Tyra on the show, at best she should be doing teaches. maybe mentor the more before getting to the photo shoots even though i think her posing skills are dubious

3) they don't keep co-judges that would tell it like it is. they seem to pick judges like Nigel who will ALWAYS kiss Tyra's *** by agreeing with her & judges like Paulina, who did have valid points but made the mistake of going against Tyra gets the boot.. if i had to pick a panel of judges imo it would be the Paulina, Jays (mr & mrs), Andre Leo Talley (but only if he's honest not like he is now, which is kinda blase. i was happy he was announced thinking he was gonna bring some legitimacy to the show but he seems to have checked out) and the designers or better yet the photographers who shot the photos to give their 2cents about their experience with the girl & what they think as an outsider. and keep people like the kardashians, kathy griffin & latoya jackson off cuz seriously, what the heck do they possibly know about modeling

4) they're extremely contradictory with their critique.. one week a girl is too commercial & when that girl changes to fit their critique she's not commercial enough then at panel, i almost never agree with why they love a photo, why they pick a best photo, why they hate others. plus, sometimes they dismiss some girls with "no personality" even if they take gorgeous pictures:judges: listen, i'd looooove some of these girls to have the whoooooole package (amazing bodies, great measurements, extraordinary faces, great unique walk, takes mindblowing pics & as a cherry on top, a sparkling personality) but they're MODELS it really really isn't needed as long as they got the other stuff down

5) they linger waaaaay to much on the drama aspect & not much on helping the girls by doing more teaches.. it seems like they do a teach once a week but should do at LEAST 2 maybe even 3 (a teach for walking, posing etc) and then they have a challenge & photo shoot instead of having the girls laying about with nothing to do but snipping at each other & filming the predictable arguments

6) they should pick better themes for the photo shoots.. sometimes out of a dozen or so photo shoots there are 4 or maybe even 5 that would be magazine

7) but most importantly, they should pick better GIRLS!!! a LOT of the girls in this & a few other seasons had girls that obviously wouldn't even make it in the industry's front doors but they bring them in cuz they're "good tv" it's ridiculous to say the least & is what's bringing down the show

8) also, pick better WINNERS!!! a lot of the time, it's the girl that didn't win that gets more attention then the actual winner of their season. in most cases, the girls who win i never EVER see them again but the girl who gets kicked off are EVERY where

if anyone has anything to add to my list i'm all ears cuz i'd like to see if anyone agrees with me.. this is a good thread & i'd like to see it revised
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[modelista]

here's a list of list of people who i believe should've won & or at least had the most potential to make it to the top

season 1) top 2: Shannon Stewart-Ratliff and Elyse Sewell - winner: Elyse Sewell

season 2) 4 best choices: Mercedes Scelba-Shorte / Shandi Sullivan / April Wilkner / Camille McDonald - winner: Shandi Sullivan

season 3) top 2: Yaya DaCosta and Amanda Swafford - winner: either one

season 4) top 2: Naima Mora and Kahlen Rondot - winner: Kahlen Rondot - this one was close but i think deserved it a little more

season 5) top 2: Nicole Linkletter and Nik Pace - winner: either one but i liked Nik Pace a little better

season 6) 5 best choices: Danielle Evans / Joanie Dodds / Nnenna Agba / Brooke Straricha / Mollie Sue Steenis - Gondi - top 2: Danielle Evans & Nnenna Agba - winner: either one would be good

season 7) 5 best choices: Eugena Washington / Amanda Babin / Michelle Babin / Anchal Joseph - top 2: it should've been between Michelle Babin and Eugenia Washington - winner: Michelle

season 8) 3 best choices: Jaslene Gonzalez / Natasha Galkina / Brittany Hatch - winner: any one would work but i thought Brittany had the most potential

season 9) 4 or 5 best choices: Chantal Jones / Jenah Doucette / Bianca Golden / Heather Kuzmich / maybe even Ebony Morgan - top 3: between Chantal, Jenah, Heather - winner: the best choice was Jenah Doucette

season 10) 4 best choices: Anya Kop / Fatima Said / Katarzyna Dolinska / Lauren Utter - top 2: between Anya Kop and Fatima Said - winner: either one was good but Fatima was the best

season 11) 5 best choices: McKey Sullivan / Analeigh Tipton / Marjorie Conrad / Elina Ivanova / Lauren Brie Harding - winner: any one of the would've been stellar but i liked Analeigh, Marjorie & Elina

season 12) this was a good crop of girls with 9 best choices: Teyona Anderson / Allison Harvard / Aminat Ayinde / Celia Ammerman / Fo Porter / London Levi-Nance / Sandra Nyanchoka / Nijah Harris / Jessica Santiago - winner: any one would be a good choice & some of them should've made it farther than others

season 13) 4 best choices: Nicole Fox / Erin Wagner / Jennifer An / Rae Weisz - top 2: Nicole Fox and Rae Weisz - winner: i agree, Nicole was hands down the winner (but there was a girl at casting who should've been given a chance, instead of that Lisa chick who seemed like she was doomed to fail.. i forgot the girl's name but she slightly tanned, blonde hair & Tyra said she had cat like eyes)

season 14) 5 or 6 best choices: Krista White / Raina Hein / Jessica Serfaty / Simone Lewis / Ren Vokes / maybe Naduah Rugley - top 3: Krista, Raina, Ren - winner: Raina but Ren would've been a close second

season 15) 5 best choices: Ann Ward / Jane Randall / Esther Petrack / Kendal Brown / Rhianna Atwood - top 2: Ann Ward and Kendal Brown - winner: either one would've been amazing but Ann did do better & i did like her

season 16) 5 best choices: Brittani Kline / Molly O'Connell / Hannah Jones / Kasia Pilewicz / Jaclyn Poole - winner: anyone but Brittani, she was good but wasn't that great

"the all-star" season 17) this was a crap fest it has absolutely NOTHING to do with modeling but if i had to pick the ones with the most potential,
4 maybe 5 were the choices: Camille McDonald / Bianca Golden / Shannon Stewart-Ratliff / Dominique Reighard / maybe Allison Harvard cuz she's not as good as she was in her cycle - top 3: Bianca, Shannon, Dominique - winner: any one would do
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[lavieenrose]

I have stopped watching the show with the expectation that it's an actual modeling competition. It wasn't during the first season, and it's even less so now. When it comes right down to it, ANTM is a reality show. The judging and photo shoots are about accentuating the drama to keep people watching, and the girls stick around who will create the most drama or who have the most interesting storyline. There are some exceptions, of course. But they're rare.

I watched last season, but I've since given up. This season has absolutely nothing to do with modeling skill imo, just about stirring up drama and creating more hokey, stereotypical, ridiculous photoshoots. Vogue Italia might have given this show a modicum of legitimacy by giving Ann the win, but I've got to knock them for even deigning themselves to become associated with this show.

 

[Fiercification]

At this point, nine years down the line, all the constant critiques or legitimacy are like beating a dead horse. ANTM is a TV show first and foremost and I know I wouldn't watch if it was boring and focused solely on the 'business of modelling'.

Regardless the show has launched careers for a lot of these girls and they are in a lot better places professionally then they would have been without the show. Let's face it, a top model is never going to come from a reality TV show since it deviates from the industry's obsession with discovery and exclusivity. The girls in ANTM have done far better than their sorry-*** MMAS counterparts and in most cases do better post-show than their international contemporaries bar a few exceptions. Patricia (and Suvi, but she doesn't count because the show she was on wasn't even associated with Tyra's brand) is a one in million, an exception that slipped through. It probably won't happen again.

People also always seem to focus on the negative, instead of the positive.

Toccara shot an OG editorial with Steven Meisel & Edward Enninful, Yaya has appeared in US Vogue shot by Patrick Demarchelier, Norman Jean Roy and styled by Tabitha Simmons. Fatima just walked DVN, Hermes and has a Herve Leger campaign with Camilla Akrans for S/S 2012. Mollie-Sue had an OG editorial in Vogue Nippon by Michael Baumgarten, was in an MG VI editorial and shot with Ellen Von Unwerth. Katarzyna walked for Issey Miyake, Danielle walked for Y-3.

Sure that's nothing groundbreaking but it's really good solid work that a lot of ordinary, signed models will get to do. At any rate it's better than what the flop contestants of other more realistic modeeling shows have ever done. If you stop looking at the show as the potential production line for the next Karlie Kloss and take it as reality TV first and foremost, then you might actually appreciate the little good that it does do. JMO.

 

[Modelo]

^ I actually agree with this Fierce! People just need to realize that this is a tv show as has been stated numerous times. Tyra Banks is incredibly intelligent. do you think she gives two craps about any of these girls getting solid work as a model afterwards? Perhaps a bit because then she can claim to have "discovered" the girl but nothing more than that. Tyra understands her audience very very well and it is for this reason that it's so popular and doing so well in ratings. I mean CW network picked her to headline the prime time schedule...

Secondly, I'm not going to get into Tyra's accomplishments in HF but don't delude yourself to believe that she was not successful or in demand. She chose to go the commercial route and again it shows how smart she was for doing it because look what it did for her. The only HF model from back then to really still be around is the iconic Miss Campbell but that's only because she's Naomi. Nothing else needs to be said.

Further Tyra I think understands that just being a model doesn't really do much anymore in terms of success as that is not guaranteed. However, being known by the public and recognition will give you longevity; if not in fashion then in some other area in Media and Entertainment. At the end of the day it's mainly about the amount of money the girl can make.

 

[Deleted member 1957]

I agree with Modelo, just because we dont see these girls at Gucci or Prada shows doesnt mean that they are not successful. Many of them earn more than they would have if they had a mainstream modeling career.

 

[Spiral1532]

Secondly, I'm not going to get into Tyra's accomplishments in HF but don't delude yourself to believe that she was not successful or in demand. She chose to go the commercial route and again it shows how smart she was for doing it because look what it did for her. The only HF model from back then to really still be around is the iconic Miss Campbell but that's only because she's Naomi. Nothing else needs to be said.

a thread like this only serves to bring out the tyra apologists. it's ironic that tyra of all people hosts a show with the words "top model" in the title. what kind of a "top model" would have only one vogue cover to her credit (a spanish vogue at that) during the entire length of her modeling career?
and naomi's "still around" because unlike her contemporaries, she never retired.

 

[Modelo]

^ Absolute Rubbish you talk! First of all Tyra has one vogue cover because during her time it had to be either/or. There was no way around it and Naomi had already won favor with the designers/editors etc.. If you take a look at the Christy Turlington's documentary about the supers there's a scene where Naomi called Si Newhouse herself because she either wasn't pleased with something or was demanding something. Regardless, it shows how much power she had. If any of the Vogues were going to put a black girl on their cover guess which of the two it would be. Furthermore, if you compare the number of Vogue covers that Maria Carla has compared to some of the other girls working today, by comparison it's almost like Naomi and Tyra BUT are these girls a bigger star than she is??... didn't think so!

Secondly, if you purchase the fashion mags from the stands you will see both Christy and Linda fronting various campaigns. So in a sense NONE of them are retired! They're not working as much as they used to but that doesn't mean that they're retired. Don't kid yourself. SO for you to think that the only reason why Naomi is still around is because she did not retire while the others did... bless your heart! LMAO

 

[Deleted member 1957]

a thread like this only serves to bring out the tyra apologists. it's ironic that tyra of all people hosts a show with the words "top model" in the title. what kind of a "top model" would have only one vogue cover to her credit (a spanish vogue at that) during the entire length of her modeling career?
and naomi's "still around" because unlike her contemporaries, she never retired.

who says that the only way to become a top model is to have a vogue cover. Tyra had an extremely successful modeling career and did alot of work in both high and commercial fashion. The general public also knows her more which I believe is important for a host of a tv show

 

[MissVampire]

It's all about ratings. The only hardworking ANTM model is Fatima Said! She walked for Dries Van Noten. Who expected that?

 

[Modelo]

^ She also walked for Hermes and landed the Herve Lerger SS12 Campaign

 

[woemwoem]

The show is a mess, a somewhat entertaining one, but still a mess because finding a top model is not its true mission. It's to get ratings, make money, and make Tyra rich.
That said, it's inaccurate to say Tyra was not a top model. She was very, very successful in her time. Regardless of what you think of VS or SI, getting a contract as an Angel and getting on its cover is still a benchmark in a model's career. And her two covers on SI's swimsuit issue was when it was still considered decent, not the bargain bin of 3rd and 4th rate models it's become.
She's appeared on many many HF runways as well as top fashion magazines even if she wasn't plastered all over the covers of all the Vogues. It's not like Joan Small is on every Vogue cover, or Jourdan Dunn, and Iman was not on many Vogue covers. Would you say they're not top models?

 

[Modelo]

^ exactly! before being on the cover of SI only went to the top tiered models but now it's 3rd rate models who get on it at best. Another thing is the VS covers, I remember in an interview Ed said that 8 hundred million copies of the catalogue was sent out. You can put the subscriptions of all the vogues and fashion mags together and they won't even come close to that number, so that was more exposure for her. Another thing he said is that no matter where he went around the world the first thing everyone asked him was if he knew Tyra Banks. She was known in every hole around the world lol.

Joan Smalls is about the biggest model in HF right now next to Karlie Kloss and Arizona Muse but she has yet to be on the cover of any edition of Vogue... so much for "change and advancement" in the industry