R ecently Estee Lauder launched its 2011 Estee Lauder Model Search for the Pure Colour lipstick IT girl. The search starts from April 25th to July 11 across the country. Rumour has it this will be the fifth and last Model Search by Estee Lauder. I think it is a shame but I suppose all good things must come to an end. Many searches have since joined the fray and many with frayed results. By far one of the more credible searches in town Estee Lauder Model Search’s girls have found some fame and some fortune. My grouse previously has been the fact that they did not do more for the girls after they have won the titles but since last year these girls seem to have managed to secure modelling contracts for the winners which makes them bona fide models.
Which is a great thing because searches like these could lift girls from obscurity to certain celebrity status and a whole new way of life. I wish I have some examples from previous searches that could justify my statement but I think you will agree that anyone with some celebrity status in Malaysia does get different channels of doors opening up to them from famous bloggers to Miss Malaysia’s. Look at blogger Joyce Wong aka Kinky Blue Fairy, Miss Deborah Henry…and many more. But I believe that making a life out of a title is no easy trip as it takes some fair amount of hard work and intelligence as well a whole lot of connections.
Not too long ago, I also attended the unconventional “crowning” of Miss Malaysia/Universe 2011, where former Miss Malaysia/ World candidate Miss Deborah Henry was “elected” by the Miss Universe Malaysia Organisation (MUMO) team thereby “catapulting” into the title because she was the most “suitable” candidate that the new Miss Universe team could select to “train” at the shortest possible time to ensure Malaysia’s standing the competition. At that time, I like a lot of fellow writers felt a bit disappointed with that result for several reasons-one, being after being kept waiting for over two hours it was not a new discovery; two, excuses ranging from the host hotel messing up the dry cleaning of the pre selected Miss Universe’s preselected laundry, waiting for other press to arrive to bad carparks was not an empowered Miss Universe speech. The fact that despite some new faces some of which were winners of the previous Estee Lauder search like Jennifer Pedersen, who is a law undergrad -instead when the announcement was finally made to an impatient team of waiting journalist- we were , I quote some an attendee “….recycling a former Miss who was not even close to winning the first time around…”. Ouch , that was harsh but true nonetheless.
I thought all the nonsense about the carparks and the standard excuse about the traffic must surely not bode well for the newly “crowned” Miss Universe who was chosen in the first place because she had the “experience” having been in a world class competition before and should help “short cut” Malaysia”s standing in the coming Miss Universe pageant but if she can’t even handle some minor wardrobe malfunction what are her chances, after all I doubt the international pageant journalist will be that patient.
Thirdly, surely Malaysia is not that lacking of beauties with brains…
Which brings us back to searches like these which help suss out future representatives of the country like Miss Malaysia Universes or Miss Malaysia Worlds and what not titles out there. However, there could be that slight problem of matching compatibilities as the requirements are rather different. Do models really need brains to look good on the runway? Well, it would be nice according to America’s Next Top Model but their criterias geared towards how well they walk on the runway and how well they photographed. Our model searches are also very likely based on the same criterion. So it is relatively more straightforward.
The work is more cut out for pageant organizers. The reputation and credibility of the pageant organizers is very important. Then there is the issue of candidates. Most Malaysian girls with some brains and beauty probably renounce these searches as shallow. Few that do see it are girls with more foresight than most into the future industry of celebrity-dome and are able to turn it into a business and their own brand- there are a couple of good examples like a former Miss Malaysia who turned emcee, actor, producer. Next, the reputation of these searches which are really reduced to nothing more than “selling” silly girls into the meat market being ogled at lascivious men and they are out to “entrap” the next big fish – a reputation as long as time.
Previously, these competitions don’t do much for these girls in terms of future modelling contract although with the brands like Ford Supermodel searches coming in things will change and models have a brighter future. And hopefully, organizers for our Miss Malaysia World/Universe will be doing a netter job of marketing these events to girl such that do see that being a Miss Universe is really an honourable one where they do the country proud and it is not just for the vanity of the country. They do need a good education because we hope the next Miss Malaysia will be able to hold her own in a conversation beyond conversant in English and they can use that position to play a more important role in society, beyond role model and ambassador of country. actually in that respect Miss Deborah Henry did do a pretty good job as a former Miss Malaysia/World as she is always linked to one charity or another.
