I was introduced to Hannah Young, co-producer of Jozi's Next Super Model reality tv show by make-up artist Lethabo Kgadima and asked to supply Jewellery for two of the tv show's challenges. Of course I could not let such a fabulous opportunity pass me by. Here's how it all went down... 


13th February: The African Challenge
It was a  glorious summer day, absolutely perfect for the ‘African Challenge’ shoot at the Thaba YaBatswana Eco Lodge  at the Kliprieviersberg Nature Reserve. When I arrived I was introduced to the models and the production team. What a great and beautiful bunch of girls! They were all very young, students mainly. Some already had some experience with modelling, others were just starting their modelling careers. From the start of the competition they had developed true friendships and they looked like a very happy crowd, there was none of the bitchiness or jealousy or arrogance that I had expected, and it was great to see how nicely they interacted with my kids - yes I dragged them along :-)

While the ladies were being styled and dressed, we chose the necklaces that would best match and enhance the designer's clothes they would be wearing. What I didn’t know was that, besides making my jewellery available to them, I would be interviewed by ETV presenter Kriya Gangiah to talk about my work as a jewellery designer. When they literally put me on the spot, in front of the camera, it wasn’t actually so bad. I really enjoyed talking about my designing process, the materials I use, and why it is so different and exclusive compared to the mass produced accessories from China that we see in each and every shop. Of course the ‘green’ focus of my designs was highlighted as well.

At mid-morning, all the girls styled and looking gorgeous and fabulous, we went down to the location of the shoot, where the girls were briefed on that day’s challenge. The aim was to portray the fashion designers garments as well as the jewellery in such a way that the designs, not the models themselves, took centre stage. As one of the Wella hair stylists said: “Let me put things in perspective: you girls are nothing more than glorified, albeit gorgeous, clothing hangers”. Ouch ouch ouch...!

Being a member of the jury (yes, I was roped into that as well) I had to look at things like the models’ initiative, how they used their environment to their advantage, whether they initiated using ‘props’, how they worked with the photographers, how well they followed instructions etcetera.

After careful deliberation (accompanied by some beverages of the alcoholic kind) in the ‘dark room’, having gone through all the footage of that morning’s shoot, the photographers, show producer and the jury members had a pretty good idea in which direction the competition was heading. Some tentative decisions about who was to be eliminated that evening, were made. At the end of the day we had the ‘elimination’, where the jury (yes, yours truly as well) commented on the models’ performance that day, highlighting their strengths and pointing out their weaknesses. Of course one of the ladies had to leave...

20th February: The Reptile Challenge
The location for this particular challenge was at the reptile centre at the Johannesburg Zoo. The theme of the shoot was ‘glamour / high fashion’. What the girls did not know is that they would have to use iguanas, tarantulas, snakes and other reptiles as their ‘props’! After the styling had been done and the glamorous outfits and jewellery had been chosen, the models were briefed. Some of the girls were fine with the animals they had to work with, while others were absolutely mortified. And that is a gross understatement! I personally would have died a thousand deaths with the knowledge that a tarantula was within a kilometre radius, let alone crawling ON me!

The girls were very brave and doing unbelievably well. Most of them retained their required professional composure and even performed beyond expectation. This was definitely one of the most difficult challenges so far! The jury (myself included, once again) gave scores for similar aspects of their ‘performance’ and once more, after we had all put in our two cents worth at the end of the day, one unlucky contestant was asked to leave...

These two days were an amazing experience for me. The models were a pleasure to work with, and the production team, the photographers, camera men and the stylists were all awesome people to get to know! 

Have a look at the trailer of Jozi's Next Top Model on YouTube!

The models:
Nomuzi, Carmen, Lauren, De'lene, Fionna, Odette