Elite Model Look (formerly known as Look of the Year from 1983 to 1995) is a yearly fashion modeling event held by Elite Model Management, an international model management group. It is used to discover and launch female fashion models in the international fashion marketplace, like the similar Ford Models' Supermodel of the World contest. Each year the contest attracts some 350,000 participants from roughly 70 countries in the world, with castings held in over 800 cities. Contestants, between the ages of 14 and 26, compete in local contests for a chance to represent their country in the world final.

Notable past contestants include Laurie Holden, Alessandra Ambrosio, Ana Beatriz Barros, Cindy Crawford, Helena Christensen, Dayana Mendoza, Melania Trump, Sofia Vergara, Olga Kurylenko, Diane Kruger, Esther Cañadas, Fernanda Tavares, Frederique van der Wal, Gisele Bündchen, Inés Rivero, Isabeli Fontana, Kate Dillon Levin, Lara Stone, Juana Burga, Petra Němcová, Stephanie Seymour, Tatjana Patitz, Ujjwala Raut, Manasvi Mamgai, Azra Akin, Miriam Odemba, Andrea Escobar and Rolene Strauss.

Gisele Bündchen competed in the world final of Elite Model Look in 1994, where she made the Top 6 but ultimately did not win.

From 1996 to 1999 the United States finals were recorded to make a television documentary special called The Making of a Supermodel, which aired on E! Entertainment Television. Online, a streaming television documentary titled Elite New Face premiered on Hulu on November 19, 2012. The series reviewed the 2011 contest, and followed the 2012 contest beginning from the regional castings all the way to the world final and the announcement of the winner. A second season following the 2013 event was also created.

The contest

The search is open to beginning models, with the contest's mission stated as being "providing the opportunity for young girls to enter the fashion world, become models and go on to have fabulous careers" and "to discover the new talents who will become the next top models."

Contestants between the ages of 14 and 26 years are eligible to compete. Females should meet a minimum height requirement of 1.72 meters, or 5'8". Males should meet a minimum height requirement of 1.88 meters, or 6'2". Until 2014, males were only allowed to participate in national finals, with females competing in the world final.

Each country taking part in the contest selects semi-finalists in various cities who compete to become national finalists. The winners of each national contest compete together in the world final. The winners are selected based on their photogenic abilities, personality, natural beauty, and potential to fit into current fashion trends. The world final lasts two weeks, during which the finalists participate in various workshops. These include highlighting natural beauty with make-up and hair professionals, photo shoots, rehearsals for the final show, and individual interviews with members of the jury and Elite's agents.

During the final show fifteen winners are selected by a jury, and are awarded worldwide contracts with Elite Model Management. The top three contestants are offered contracts with a guaranteed remuneration.

Titleholders

HeldWinnerCountryDate of birthAgeNotable participantsReference
November 19, 1983Lisa HollenbeckUnited States1968-1-115Cindy Crawford, Tatjana Patitz, Stephanie Seymour, Hunter Reno, Deborah Falconer, Jacqueline de la Vega, Claudia Ferrabraz, Martha Eugenia Ortíz, Illana Diamant, Gaby Chiarini, Monica Gripman, Ljiljana Tica2011-11-22 at the Wayback Machine
June 27, 1985Frederique van der WalNetherlands1967-8-3017Laurie Holden - (Canada nationals)
September 15, 1986Maria LindkvistSweden1972-1-3014Karen Mulder
September 4, 1987Debbie ChinUnited States1969-8-2618Helena Christensen
September 15, 1988Kelley BrowneUnited States197315Philippa Lett, Kate Fischer, Catherine McCord, Michele Chalupka, Cynthia Pinot, Maria Patricia Betita - (Philippines finals)
September 4, 1989Inés SastreSpain1973-11-2115Natasha Henstridge
September 12, 1990Wendy VeldhuisNetherlands1971-8-2619Georgina Grenville, Ivana Miličević, Lauren Santo Domingo, Ingrid Vandebosch, Yulia Lemigova - (USSR castings)
September 4, 1991Ingrid SeynhaeveBelgium1973-6-2818Jennipher Rodriguez, Kate Dillon Levin, Yvonne Voni Delfos, Tamara Sedmak, Natasha Stefanenko - (USSR finals)
September 15, 1992Mariann MolskiUnited States1976-9-2415Sofia Vergara, Ruffa Gutierrez, Diane Heidkrüger, Marta Cecchetto, Oxana Zubakova, Eugenia Silva, Nieves Álvarez, Aline Wermelinger, Amit Machtinger, Lee So-ra, Melania Knauss - (Slovenia finals), Esther Cañadas - (Spain Finals)
September 11, 1993Heidi AlbertsenDenmark1976-9-117Tatiana Zavialova, Inés Rivero, Ashley Scott, María Alejandra Márquez, Inna Zobova - (Russia finals)
September 10, 1994Natalia SemanovaRussia1979-10-114Gisele Bündchen, Kristanna Loken, Sheetal Mallar, Ainsley McWha, Tatiana Nikiforova, Fabiana Saba, Kerry Bohm, Claudia Zanella, Sophie Winters, Flavia Mantovan, Elenoire Casalegno, Nina Georgalas, Sandra Maidana
August 20, 1995Sandra WagnerSwitzerland1978-1-117Irina Bondarenko, Emma B, Eihi Shiina, Lee Sun-Jin, Tracy Trinita, Carolina Magalhães, Joseane Oliveira, Isabelle Darras, Zoya Sakr, Tamara Henriksen, Alessandra Ambrosio - (Brazil finals), Caroline Ribeiro - (Brazil finals)
September 7, 1996Diana KovalchukUkraine1982-2-2314Ana Beatriz Barros, Isabeli Fontana, Katia Zygouli, Michelle Alves, Nina Morić, Petra Němcová, Ujjwala Raut, Nataša Vojnović, Jill McCormick, Olga Otrokhova, Kristina Rostad, Tarina Young, Lauren Bowles, Olga Kurylenko - (Russia nationals), Anna Azarova - (Russia nationals)2011-09-06 at the Wayback Machine
September 16, 1997Yfke SturmNetherlands1981-11-1915Franziska Knuppe, Juliana Martins, Viera Schottertova, Sedef Avci, Soraia Chaves, Elizabeth Perfoll
September 17, 1998Alina PuscauRomania1982-4-716Azra Akin, Mara Darmousli, Tatiana Kovylina, Mia Rosing, Linda Nývltová, Sandra Seifert, Ksenia Agafonova, Miranda Slabber - (Netherlands finals).
September 11, 1999Vika SementsovaUkraine1985-7-214Marie-José Hnein, Helen Lindes, Victoria Lopyreva - (Russia regionals), Karishma Modi, Paloma Moreno, Kate Nauta, Raica Oliveira, Miriam Odemba, Gamze Özçelik, Maria del Mar Rosario, Lara Stone, Kuku Trinidad - (Philippines finals),
September 9, 2000Linda VojtováCzech Republic1985-6-2215Lourdes Arévalos, Alena Martanovicova, Arantxa Santamaria, Renata Klem, Joana Santos, Eszter Tóth, Dinna Olivia, Desirée Pallotta, Valentina Zelyaeva - (Russia nationals).
September 8, 2001Rianne ten HakenNetherlands1986-5-715Dayana Mendoza, Renata Ruiz, Emina Cunmulaj, Tracy Ip, Schynaider Moura, Femke Lakenmann, Bonny Bige Chen, Olga Elnikova, Irina Shadrina, Valentina Zelyaeva - (Russia nationals), Milana Keller - (Russia finals).
September 7, 2002Ana MihajlovicSerbia and Montenegro1987-5-2015Kenza Fourati, Ximena Huilipán, Enikő Mihalik, Ingrid Kelly, Tuğçe Kazaz, Dafne Molina - (Mexico finals).
November 8, 2003Denisa DvončováSlovakia1988-4-3015May Akerman, Charlott Cordes, Chiara Baschetti, Karina Rivero, Paula Verhoeven, Hanna Verboom, Rojane Fradique, May J - (Japan Finals).2011-11-07 at the Wayback Machine
December 2, 2004Sofie OosterwaalNetherlands1990-7-1714Carolina Morán, Sofia Bruscoli, Vanessa Ceruti, Danijela Dimitrovska, Michaela Hlaváčková, Michaela Kocianova, Emma Ahlund, Inna Serpukhovitina, Svetlana Sergienko, Ria Bolivar, Jessica Amornkuldilok - (Thailand finals).
November 5, 2005Charlotte Di CalypsoFrance1990-12-914Julia "Juju" Ivanyuk, Johanna Jonsson, Alba Riquelme, Hoàng Khánh Ngọc, Malena Costa Sjögren - (Spain finals), Helen Nicolette Henson - (Philippines finals).
February 10, 2007Denisa DvořákováCzech Republic1989-5-2817Constance Jablonski, Mirka Michlíková, Ronja Furrer, Ioana Boitor, Manasvi Mamgai, Sigrid Agren, Zivanna Letisha Siregar, Arlenis Sosa - (Dominican Republic finals), Natasha Domínguez - (Venezuela nationals)], María José Gallego.
April 21, 2008Jennifer MesselierFrance1991-4-2316Rolene Strauss, Tamar Shedania, Adama Diallo, Dorothea Barth Jorgensen, Hana Jiříčková, Juana Burga Cervera, Noelia López, Ymre Stiekema, Edsa Ramírez, Kristy Agapiou, Sofia Rudieva - (Russia nationals).
November 1, 2008Louise MaselisBelgium1993-3-2815Fei Fei Sun, Cora Emmanuel, Josefina Cisternas, Cynthia de la Vega, Jessica Duarte, Angela Ruiz - (Venezuela finals).
October 18, 2009Julia SanerSwitzerland1992-2-1917Caterina Ravaglia, Emily Smith, Ming Xi, Nyasha Matonhodze, Simona Andrejic, Caterina Ravaglia - (Italy finals), Livia Rangel - (Mexico finals)2016-03-26 at the Wayback Machine 2012-01-04 at the Wayback Machine
October 10, 2010Karolina TolkachovaUkraine1992-2-1818Erjona Ala, Hou Meng Die, Lucette van Beek, Roberta Narciso, Maria Borges - (Angola finals), Camille Cerf - (France nationals), Dulcita Lieggi - (Dominican Republic finals).
December 6, 2011Julia SchneiderSweden1996-1-115Lenka Hanakova, Lieve Dannau, Amra Cerkezovic, Lera Kvasovka, Joséphine Le Tutour, Li Xiao Xing, Pauline Hoarau, Lieke van Houten, Nguyễn Thị Tuyết Lan, Dhio Moreno - (Dominican Republic finals)
December 1, 2012Marilhéa Léa PeillardFrance1994-11-1618Trinidad de la Noi, Manuela Frey, Ysaunny Brito, Alecia Morais, Diana Croce, Cassandra Chery, Daniela Álvarez - (Mexico finals), Vittoria Ceretti - (Italy finals)
November 27, 2013Eva KlímkováCzech Republic1997-10-1216Amilna Estêvão, Estelle Chen, Anita Zet, Viktoria Machajdik, Sunniva Halkjelsvik, Barbora Kolarikova, May Bell, Cassandra Chery, Eden Bristowe, Luba Hryniv, Anastasia Kostenko - (Russia castings)
December 2, 2014Barbora Podzimková ♀Czech Republic1999-9-915Laura Strantz, Alexandra Micu, Selma Hadziosmanovic, Greta Varlese, María Romina Trotto Morales, Awa Sanoko, Vijaya Sharma, Đặng Thị Lệ Hằng, Irina Đuranović, Mayowa Nicholas, Alena Lyashenko, Yasmin Wijnaldum
James Richard Parker ♂Italy1995-12-618Serge Rigvava, Raphael Hatt, Jeong Woo Kim, Josef Utekal, Eduard Michalko, Aitor Andueza
November 23, 2015Anouk Thijssen ♀Netherlands2000-7-415Chiara Leone, Aneta Měšťanová, Charlotte Corn, Matilde Rastelli, Annabella Bihari, Léia Matagne, María Almenta2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
Tristan Tymen ♂France1995-8-2120Kristian Černík, Hsu Chen, Angelo Amirante, Benjamin Aston
Elite Model Look International 2016November 23, 2016Jana Tvrdikova ♀Czech Republic2000-12-2015Katya Bybina, Cosima Lagae, Zara Bicha, Alina Dementieva, Amanda Denis, Holly Magson
Davidson Obennebo ♂Nigeria1996-3-1720Etienne Robert, Gideon Yendell
November 29, 2017Valeria Chenskaya ♀Russia2002-9-615Mona Tougaard
Antonio Freitas ♂BrazilUnknown17
August 30, 2018Wen Di ♀ChinaUnknown17
Maksim Krintser ♂RussiaUnknown17
November 18, 2019Yireh Fernanda Carrasco ♀Dominican RepublicUnknown16
Laetitia Ky ♀Côte d'Ivoire199623
Andrej Chamula ♂SlovakiaUnknown19
January 31, 2021Mika Reins ♀PhilippinesUnknown21
Lola Pierré ♀FranceUnknown16
Jack Jerry ♂USA1997-2-1223
Salvatore Corallo ♂ItalyUnknown16
August 30, 2022Majda John Peter ♀South SudanUnknown17Sara Caballero, Ali Dansky
Sergi Shan ♂SpainUnknown19
June 15, 2024Micklate Macobola ♀MozambiqueUnknown20
Imade Darouache ♂ItalyUnknown21
  • No event was held in 1984, 2006 or 2023.

Participating nations and regions

The following is a list of countries or regions that have participated in the Elite Model Look contest

North America

Central America

Caribbean

South America

Europe

Africa

Asia

Oceania

Hosts

YearHosts
1988George Hamilton
1993Ingrid Seynhaeve
1994Carol Alt & Marcus Schenkenberg
1996Ines Rivero, Linda Hardy & Frédéric Mitterrand
1998Valeria Mazza
1999Ingrid Seynhaeve
2001Chantal Bolivar
2003Ashley Scott
2007Chantal Bolivar
2011Nikki Reed

See also

External links