Article by Eder Guzman
Photo credit by Ken Lo & Niko
The CA Model final took place on August 23, 2014 at Terminal 5 in, New York. The anticipation was palpable, as most guests and VIP’s had to wait online that refused to move for 45 minutes. This was the first annual CA model competition, set up by C.E.O William Yip.
The models were chose from all over the country, and those chosen had a 3 week tour of China, along with catwalk training and photo shoots. In the end, 10 were chosen, and tonight they are competing for CA modeling contract. The judges in this competition were celebrity fashion stylist Phu Styles, American fashion designer Carmen Marc Valvo, and Eva Chen of the M Group modeling agency.
There were 5 rounds. In the 1st round was contemporary wear, with clothes provided by AnGGNY. All models walked out elegantly, with Micah garnering considerable praise for being the first woman to walk out, and doing so elegantly. Valvo criticized Yawen for walking and “bobbing her head”. Styles disagreed and like her walk. Styles also liked Jenny Liu’s walk, yet Valvo said her “flourish” at the end was unnecessary. Styles commented Michele Yan’s uninspired walk, saying she “looked like a deer in the headlights”. Eva Chen commented, through a translator, that Yawen Liang had a confident personality that shone through her walk, a sentiment shared by the other judges.
The 2nd round had the women model cocktail dresses, provided by Bread nButter. Yawen is the judge’s favorite in this round, with Styles and Valvo commenting on how much they like her look, and Valvo adding that she looks like less of a bobblehead. Both Styles and Eva Chen liked Michelle Yan, telling her that she was more impressive than the rest. Chen pointed out that Baohua has been underrated so far, but exhibited a classy walk in this round.
Vivian Fang Liu Performance
Now that the models have had 2 rounds available to please the judges, round 3 was ripe for highlighting debilitating habits. Valvo was extra specific in this round, since the swimwear round was provided by the Carmen Marc Valvo Collection. Valvo and Styles were impressed by Baohua, calling her “Amazing”, as was Micah Yu. Chen was and continued to be impressed by Yun Liang all the way to the end of the competition. After round 4, there were to be 5 eliminations from the competition, and it was clear that some models knew their fate, as they were rarely mentioned by the judges.
In the 4th round, style admired Cynthia’s sultry look, and along with Valvo highlighted Yawen’s elegance. Chen disagree’s with the toerhs, saying Yawen fell in her estimation, but complimented Theresa Loo’s smile. They all saud that Cynthia looked “like a Goddess” on the runway, with her flowing dress, making her “Diva-like.”
For the 5th and final round, Valvo impressed on the girls that they were looking for a model who could do professional photo shoot, yet was just as good in doing editorials. The judges idolize a model who worked on the runway, someone who does not look like a commercial model. The models eliminated was Theresa, Cynthia. Ellen Mah, and Michelle Yan.
The drama instantly built up after the 5 eliminations, and it was clear by the murmer in the audience that the seasoned models in the industry knew how the end would play out. In the end, Micah received the honorable mention, which was the crowd favorite throughout the competition.
In the end, the CA Model Competition winner was Yawen Liang, the judge’s favorite throughout the competition. All the girls were beautiful in this tense competition, and all should be proud of the hard work they put into the competition, and the high turnout they managed to attract. Me and everyone in the audience look forward to next year’s CA Model Competition.
Yawen Liang
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