Vietnam's Next Top Model, champion Lanvin and more - Fashion Film Five

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AMERICA’S NEXT TOP CO HOST


Ever since TV veteran and seemingly immortal marvel of modern medicine Regis Philbin left iconic American morning show “Live with Regis and Kelly” this year they’ve been desperately searching for a replacement male co-host for Kelly Ripa – because god knows you can’t just have a woman running a talk show on her own, right Oprah and Ellen? So far they’ve kept Regis’ seat warm with guest hosting by Jerry Seinfeld, Jonah Hill and Michael Buble among others, but this week producers finally got serious and worked out that, as with so many dilemmas, the only way to solve the problem was by turning to the world of fashion. Or, more accurately, to Tyra Banks, who put Neil Patrick Harris, Taye Diggs, Josh Groban and others through a gruelling America’s Next Top Model style photo shoot and runway challenge to determine who was the host with the most. Props to NPH’s booty-shaking, but have these guys ever even SEEN an episode of ANTM? Where are all the tears? (Side note: you just KNOW that Tyra thought she sounded amazing when she sang “Josh Groooban!” at 1:03)
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VIETNAM’S NEXT TOP MODEL RICE PADDY RUN AND STILT WALK

Speaking of Tyra Banks, Vietnamese fashion fans are abuzz that the celebrity former model will be heading to Ho Chi Minh in January to be a special guest on the finale of Vietnam’s Next Top Model. Yes, that exists. You might think in a nation where the average female height is 150cm finding supermodels might be a difficult undertaking. Apparently not – one finalist, Le Thi Thuy, is 180cm tall. She’s also “a volleyball athlete professional advantage in height with a face pattern”, according to Google Translate, but that might not be accurate. Now in its second season, VNTM awards its winner a modelling contract and 1 billion dong (no, that’s not an obscene joke, that’s about AUD $47,000), not to mention the chance to be seen on national television running through rice paddies and walking on stilts – both important skills to master in the modelling industry. One might laugh at this clip showing the quaint “challenges” undertaken on the show, but then again one might remember that Australia’s Next Top Model once got its contestants to dress up in rented animal costumes and pose on hay bales for “Italian Vogue”. So... yeah.
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LANVIN VOTED FASHION FILM OF THE YEAR

London newspaper The Telegraph has named Paris label Lanvin’s autumn/winter campaign the best fashion video of 2011, an award no one even knew existed. But hey, good for Lanvin! Featuring a bunch of models dancing really awkwardly to Pitbull’s club hit Calle Ocho, the video looks rather like your typical office Christmas party, where everybody drinks a bit too much but is still too uncomfortable to really have fun. An office party that Sharon from HR declared had a “Spanish cowboy” theme that only the men adhered to because Sharon has big boobs. Just watch the video. (Meanwhile: red dress at 0:38 – MARRY ME.)
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BLONDE ON AN ESCALATOR

Meanwhile, here’s MY favourite fashion video of 2011: “Blonde on an escalator”, apparently filmed at upmarket New York department store Saks Fifth Avenue, which not only provides strong evidence for the argument that blondes might not be the most intellectually nimble people but also proves that department store clothing sales can have a truly mind-numbing effect.

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MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM BRAVO MODELS 

With Christmas three days done you probably already got everything you needed out of the big day – presents, tree, champagne, an awkward bikini model with a weird accent and a Santa hat to sing you carols... Hang on, you DON’T have one of those? Don’t worry, that illustrious fashion house “Bravo Models Media” has got you covered. Better late than never.