Audi Fashion Festival gets a New Face
by Noor Ashikin Abdul Rahman
THE New Paper New Face 2010 winner Vivien Ong has landed a coveted spot as one of four faces of the Audi Fashion Festival (AFF).
These faces best exemplify the spirit and look of the event and the theme, which is "Driving Imagination". They will front both the campaign and walk the runway during the shows.
Vivien, 19, who is also in contention for the Asian Model Search which ends on April 30, was also the only Singaporean to be chosen.
The audience at the AFF model casting party last Wednesday at ION square were wowed by the 200-odd models who were fighting for a spot to walk the runway during the festival.
Miss Rasyidah Mohd Idrus, 22, was especially awed.
She said: "There are so many beautiful models here who seem to have the character and charm. It is a tough decision to make but I think those chosen were very deserving."
Said Muhd Asrisarhan Jasman, 21, who was happy that a Singaporean model was chosen as one of the faces: "Vivien's selection is like a breath of fresh air, I think it's a good thing to show what we have on such a big platform."
However, he added that he would have liked to see more Asian faces.
With less than two years of modelling experience, being picked was quite a feat for Vivien. When The New Paper spoke to her, the gamine-faced and affable model was all smiles. Vivien thinks it was her hair that snagged her the opportunity.
She said: "There were not many Asian models there so I was easily distinguishable. I think it was a refreshing change."
The 1.77m tall Vivien had previously sported longer hair before she had her locks chopped during The New Paper New Face competition last year.
She was told it would make her look "edgier". For certain, that is not something she is likely to regret.
She added that she plans to maintain her current hairstyle because it's "so much easier to manage".
Out of the 200 model hopefuls, only 40 models were shortlisted.
The models had only one shot to impress the judges with their confidence and charm on the runway.
They then had to flash their best smiles and magazine-cover poses at the end of their walk to impress the panel of four judges - local model Sheila Sim, editor-in-chief of Elle Singapore, Sharon Lim, stylist Jeremy Tan and festival producer also named Jeremy Tan.
The judges went for a contemporary and earthy look as well as versatility in order to pull off the looks required by participating brands.
The women in the audience were also treated to a visual spectacle when the hunky male models stripped off their tops to show off their physique.
Some models also had a few surprises of their own. One spontaneously broke into a popping routine to entertain the judges and audience.
At the end of the night, Miss Wang Qian Qian from China, Miss Nastya Karzan from Russia and Miss Florentina Stoian from Romania joined Vivien to bag the acclaimed roles.
Stunned
In addition, Ukranian model Marina Nikitenkova was picked for the Elle Singapore fashion feature. The 22-year-old was stunned at her own selection, especially since she had decided to try out only the previous day.
She said: "This is one of my biggest achievements so far. If I hadn't tried, I would have thought it was impossible. But now I know."
Festival chairman Dick Lee praised the quality of the models this year, acknowledging that it has soared compared to last year.
In addition, he added that there was a conscious effort to rope in more Asian models this year but the pool to choose from was still relatively small.
He said: "There seems to be a dearth of Asian models and we don't want to see that happen. "Also, we'd have liked to see more Malay faces."
Audi Fashion Festival will kick off here from May 13 to 19 and will have Missoni and Raoul in the line-up.
ashikinr@sph.com.sg
This article was first published in The New Paper.
source : divaasia