A girl who competed in Miss Vietnam 2012 and landed in the Top 10 of Miss Ethnic Vietnam 2013 was crowned in the Saturday finale of the first local season of Elite Model Look, the world’s most prestigious modeling contest.

Dang Thi Le Hang, 21, with body measurements of 85-62-95, pocketed a prize of VND600 million (US$28,241) in cash and presents.

Following her coronation, the 1.76m-tall girl will appear on the cover of several local and international fashion magazines.

Hang will also represent Vietnam at the international     Elite Model Look contest, to take place in Paris in November this year.

Unlike local modeling or beauty contests, Elite Model Look Vietnam had its Saturday finale focused on the finalists’ strutting skills rather than their oral presentation or question-answering skills, which are deemed unnecessary for models.

The contest is also different from Vietnam’s Next Top Model – the local version of America’s Next Top Model – which features its contestants’ daily activities unrelated to the contest or modeling and highlights their feelings, personal statements, and even rows.

The local organizer could take the prestigious global modeling contest to Vietnam only after six years of negotiations.

During the September 6 finale, 24 finalists donned jeans and T-shirts, and swimwear in two of their competing categories.  

The jury then picked 10 outstanding finalists, who continued to compete in the evening gown category.

Two runners- up are Pham Thi Kim Thi and Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh.

Five other finalists also won auxiliary prizes, including best physique.

The two-month competition was broadcast to the world on Fashion TV.

First held in 1983 in the U.S., Elite Model Look has been held in 60 countries and discovered many of the world’s hottest models, including Cindy Crawford, Gisele Bundchen, Alessandra Ambrosio, Lara Stone, Fei Fei Sun, and Diane Kruger.

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