13th February: The African Challenge
It was a glorious summer day, absolutely perfect for the ‘African Challenge’ shoot at the Thaba YaBatswana Eco Lodge at the Kliprieviersberg Nature Reserve. When I arrived I was introduced to the models and the production team. What a great and beautiful bunch of girls! They were all very young, students mainly. Some already had some experience with modelling, others were just starting their modelling careers. From the start of the competition they had developed true friendships and they looked like a very happy crowd, there was none of the bitchiness or jealousy or arrogance that I had expected, and it was great to see how nicely they interacted with my kids - yes I dragged them along :-)
Being a member of the jury (yes, I was roped into that as well) I had to look at things like the models’ initiative, how they used their environment to their advantage, whether they initiated using ‘props’, how they worked with the photographers, how well they followed instructions etcetera.
The location for this particular challenge was at the reptile centre at the Johannesburg Zoo. The theme of the shoot was ‘glamour / high fashion’. What the girls did not know is that they would have to use iguanas, tarantulas, snakes and other reptiles as their ‘props’! After the styling had been done and the glamorous outfits and jewellery had been chosen, the models were briefed. Some of the girls were fine with the animals they had to work with, while others were absolutely mortified. And that is a gross understatement! I personally would have died a thousand deaths with the knowledge that a tarantula was within a kilometre radius, let alone crawling ON me!
Have a look at the trailer of Jozi's Next Top Model on YouTube!
The models:
Nomuzi, Carmen, Lauren, De'lene, Fionna, Odette