It’s hard to believe, but America’s Next Top Model has actually made it to cycle 10. So far we’ve seen Adrienne, Yoanna, Eva, Naima, Nicole, Danielle, Caridee, Jaslene and Saleisha catapaulted to Top Model status. And now a new season begins and a new top model will be crowned.
I don’t know what it is about this show but, no matter how many times it disappoints me (ie. Nicole, Caridee, Jaslene, Saleisha, and, ugh, Tyra), I can’t stop watching. There is just something so deliciously irresistible about the shameless self promotion, scathing comments, staged cat-fights and eating disorder denials, that make up the scripted staples of each season. And I guess I can find comfort in the fact that, with ten cycles in 5 years, attaining the title of Top Model means relatively little to anybody anymore. Especially in the wake of recent criticism that the show is getting from the fashion world.
“Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, commenting on ANTM and Project Runway in the September 2006 issue of Harper’s Bazaar, slammed it as “trash that is funny for five minutes if you’re with other people. If you’re alone, it’s not funny. Those girls will never be the next Gemma Ward. There is no justice in the fashion business.” Ironically, Ward was discovered as an audience member in Australia’s Search for a Supermodel, a similarly-themed model reality show… [and] Lagerfeld served as a photographer for the French version of ANTM.”
Noticeably absent from this cycle is Twiggy, citing scheduling conflicts. Though her motherly influence will be missed, her departure presents an exciting opportunity for a new judge to shake things up.
Stepping up to the plate is supermodel Paulina Porizkova, who’s first order of business was to rip apart each girl apart (like when she told Dominique that she looked like a transvestite Robin Wright), in order to prepare them for the harsh realities of the modeling world.Though her short stint on Dancing with the Stars does take away from her credibility, Porizkova has been featured in some pretty prominent mags like Elle, Vogue, Cosmo and Glamour, as well as dabbling in acting and writing a book. Sure she’s no Twiggy, but Top Model has been dying for a new resident bitch ever since Janice left.
All things considered, I will probably continue to watch ANTM for as long as they continue to broadcast. But this post is about all the critical consideration I can muster, so for the latest Top Model dish head over to http://www.topmodelgossip.com/.
1 response so far ↓
astrid // March 21, 2008 at 4:25 am
PAULINA PORIZKOVA is The Most Beautiful SUPERMODEL…..
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