As of late, I've been seeing a lot of Sheena Bashing on social media after she was recently, officially crowned the winner of Asia's Next Top Model Cycle 2.
Well, here’s my take on it. I could understand why many of
you felt cheated and you think that Jodilly deserve to win more. But, I still
stand that Sheena deserve to win just as much and I believe that she would
benefit from it more than Jodilly.
You see, Jodilly is great at being a model, the verb. But as
for Sheena, Sheena is a model noun. I have to admit that Jodilly may model
better than Sheena, but with practice, they could be on par. Jodilly might be
more daring but Sheena knows her stuff.
I may not be a professional but seeing the two, I believe
that Sheena would strive and appeal to a larger/more international market than
Jodilly. Agencies would book Sheena more than Jodilly. You see, Sheena has that
exotic look that attracts people. She clearly has the Asian look that is
currently popular in the market due to the rise in Korean fashion. She is the
kind of look that one knows for sure that she is a model. Sheena reminds me of
model Amber Chia and Shu Qi (if you look at Sheena’s photo’s when she has
darker hair), both quite successful in their fields. As for Jodilly, she’s a
very pretty girl, very sweet. But her market may not be as large as Sheena’s.
She would do well in certain markets in Asia, especially in the Phillipines.
Jodilly’s strength lies within her skills and talents, but if you could only
see by looks, she would (to be honest) lose out to Sheena.
Also, Jodilly could clearly define a commercial model but
Sheena is clearly more editorial. Seeing the trends, the Next Top Model
franchise usually favors more editorial models. The current Storm Models are mostly more editorial which also explains why Sheena would fit better (justified above). Also, Harpers’ Bazaar is more
editorial than commercial. Seeing from the business perspective, I believe that
the editors would choose a more editorial model. Therefore, looking at business
perspective, I feel that the agency would book more with Sheena than Jodilly,
especially in the European market. If you would want to look at it deeper, let’s
put Jessica vs Stephanie from last cycle. You could clearly see by looks alone
that Jessica would book more than Stephanie, not because of her talents but
because (sadly) the market. If you want to look again, compare Sofia and
Stephanie. On the runway, I think Sofia would book more than Stephanie. Bottom
line is, they appeal to different audiences but in the larger scale, editorial
models are more desirable in the market. Now, let’s be honest. Without the
show, if you see two magazines, let’s say Harpers Bazaar, at the stand, one
with Sheena on it and the other with Jodilly, and you could only choose one,
which would you pick up? I don’t buy magazines but if I had to, it’ll be Sheena’s.
However, it’s different if it’s like Seventeen. Then, without a doubt, Jodilly’s
would be the one to pick up. But look at the prizes again. It’s Harpers Bazaar.
With that being my case, I hope I shed some light as to why I
think Sheena would be the more suitable winner of the competition. As for being
deserving, both equally deserve it. I think the result was based more on
business perspective rather than the abilities of the models because when it
comes down to it, they were both on par with each other. I’ve seen some of
their post-show works and I’m happy that both of them are making it big in the
industry.
If you’re thinking that I’m supporting Sheena solely on the fact
that I’m Malaysian myself, you are mistaken. I watched the previous cycle as
well. I love and supported Melissa (still do, actually). However, because of
the bitter truth and the market as it is now, I know that she would not be able
to win it. Don’t get me wrong, I love Melissa, but the odds were not in her
favor, at least not of this generation as Melissa is clearly more commercial
than editorial (refer above). But because of Melissa’s attitude and
personality, I believe she will go far in this business. Melissa is a people
person, one that could appeal to normal everyday girls. Sadly, the market calls
for people who girls aspire to become, which is sad but that’s the truth. I’m
happy that Melissa, and even Tyra herself is trying to break that barrier.
p/s: i'm aware that i may receive some bashing after this but i have my opinion. to each their own.
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