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Top Model Jun 2, 2008 @ 12:31pm

Will Tyra Really Bring More Fashion To Top Model?

Tyra Banks Despite our excitement that Whitney Thompson won the latest Top Model crown, there’s no doubt that the show is getting more boring by the season - not quite Hills boring, but almost…

So it was interesting to hear Tyra Banks admit in her recent interview with The New York Times that she, too, was bored of the show -

Namely the contestants, who “only want to be famous.”

Well shit, Tyra, we could have told you that by Cycle Four.

Tyra promises in the article that upcoming seasons of Top Model will test and weigh the contestant’s knowledge of fashion and potential for industry viability above all else.

We’ll believe it when we see it - and when she lowers the show’s age requirement from 18 to 15.

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posted by la petite fashionista

Jun 02, 2008 12:47PM

i hope tyra's not all talk; if top model wants to survive another season it needs a winner that will make it in the industry! i thought this season was a bit of an improvement but i'm exciting to see what happens..

posted by flizzers

Jun 02, 2008 12:51PM

My boyfriend and I were just saying on Saturday that the cycles are getting more and more boring, and the ladies less and less attractive (can we say ugly drag queens!?) I agree that younger contestants would make sense (who the heck "breaks" into the modeling industry at 26?) and more challenges that actually have something to do with FASHION. The girls usually can't name a single designer, forget a model, and wouldn't know haute coutour if it beat them in the head. I hope Tyra revamps the show but doesn't lose her dramatic "and the next girl I'm going to call is..." routine (I live for that-- it's so bad, but oh, so good!)

posted by labonnie

Jun 02, 2008 2:02PM

The contestant looking for the most fame has to be Lisa D'Amato, cycle 5.
Since then, the show has been a total bore.

posted by guest

Jun 02, 2008 3:08PM

I just watched the marathon on MTV yesterday and I have to say that although I liked Whitneey, I think the whole things was rigged. Some of the other girls were better than her and I think she only won b/c they needed something different for this season (b/c like you said it's gotten boring). It's unfortunate that she won based on her size and not her talent.

posted by guest

Jun 02, 2008 5:07PM

If you guys didn't knew this but Whitneey was not a plus size model...she gain wait so she can compete as a plus size and make all the drama about it, there are tons of photos of her when she was size 2 or 0, and the Show o god I stop watching it when amanda didn't won..there are alot of better girls out there and an advice for them if you wanna ba a real model be patient, take care of your image and maybe someone will scout you for a real career not a 2 months career..

XOXO

posted by guest

Jun 02, 2008 6:39PM

Girls you simply MUST watch Australia's next top model. Forget Cycle 1 and 2 though, go directly to 3. Cycle 4 is currently going and it actually makes real models (see: Alice Burdeu). I was at Australian Fashion Week and dressed one of the finalised at one the Bowie show.

posted by guest

Jun 02, 2008 10:56PM

i just checked the eligibility requirements for cycle 11 and you still have to be at least 18

posted by enicke_

Jun 02, 2008 11:39PM

18-15??
that's just wrong. lolita's running around in panties.

posted by guest

Jun 03, 2008 9:30AM

It was so annoying when they were trying to be "correspondents on the red carpet" and they didn't even know how to pronounce "Lacroix". Give me a break. How can you want to be a model and not know anything about the designers, let alone how to pronounce their names?

posted by guest

Jun 03, 2008 9:50AM

but knowing anything about fashion and designers is not a requirement to be a model - do you really think all those young girls enter the business with knowledge of fashion or designer history? No one's giving them a test when they're signing with an agency.

posted by guest

Jun 03, 2008 11:15AM

That is so true. So many models have admitted not knowing anything about fashion before entering the industry.
But some knowledge would certainly validate the show!

posted by guest

Jun 03, 2008 9:16PM

If any of the contestants had any potential to be successful models, they would already BE successful models. Am I the only one who thinks this way?

I doubt that ANTM is the first time that any of them have tried to enter the industry. Most of them have probably tried before and have been rejected, and will continue to be rejected after winning ANTM, because they lack something the industry looks for (youth, a particular look, a remarkable face).

posted by guest

Jun 04, 2008 6:03AM

I agree with above posts that being a model shouldn't require knowledge of the industry itself. Models are just walking hangers/mannequins that allow the clothing to be displayed.

If this was ANTDesigner I would understand - but when's the last time a model started her career by earning a fashion degree?

posted by hipstersdontlie

Jun 04, 2008 2:04PM

I'm currently watching Britain's Next Top Model and Australia's Next Top Model. The British contestants are extremely boring. The Australian ones seem fun but childish and unfocused.

I actually thought Canada's has been the most interesting.

posted by guest

Jun 04, 2008 5:37PM

nobody should be working as a model at 15 years old. NOBODY.

posted by guest

Jun 09, 2008 1:05PM

I'm watching Germany's next top model with subs atm and it is a million times better than the English one and almost as good as ANTM, but everyone is really nice. As for the modelling, I thought it was 16, not 15?

posted by Fonssagrives24

Mar 24, 2009 10:17PM

I believe Tyra prefers participants who will bend to her will or lift up their shirts and do a raise-the-hands "Heyyyyyyy!" like Nikeysha from Cycle 11, right (just kidding)? Tyra has all the skills of a powerful media-business entrepreneur but where is the passion for the model's profession? I think it went downhill when the switch to commercial modeling occurred. She could not handle being criticized for bodily characteristics that shouldn't have to be fixed. Now, if model says she can go into commercial modeling without being criticized similarly then that's bullcrap. Tyra did several years in the commercial business but the total amount of years of experience probably means she has deep issues requiring therapy. I don't understand her preference for "non-modely women" since those are the type that don't get jobs in Paris or Milan. What I do understand is her choices in the entertainment business. Let's face it, she can manage a company without sacrificing ratings. No matter how poor in quality ANTM becomes, people who aren't interested in fashion will tune in to see which girl becomes the scapegoat for the week. It's like a bunch of tough-looking gangsters circling a school boy to beat him up and then take his money. Most of the contestants are like this.... messed up individuals. I think of crack whores when watching an episode. All the denial and talking behind people's backs keeps the ratings up. ANTM is a good show when it comes to entertainment but has no relevance to the fashion industry.