Winners from Next Hot Model UK head to the Seychelles Islands to turn up the heat and live the highlife, as Simon D’arcy Abbott explains:
The trip to the Seychelles was amazing. The locations we visited were an absolute paradise and seeing all the different culture the islands had to offer was superb. It definitely was the trip of a life time.
Winners of 2014’s Next Hot Model competition beat off over 2000 aspiring models to secure exclusive contracts with model agency PRM London.
Teams of talent scouts travelled through town centres, supermarkets, malls and events casting their professional eyes over the South’s beautiful people in a bid to find aspiring and unsigned models who dream of ditching the high street for the cat walk and enter the glossy world of high-fashion.
Run in partnership with the London-based and internationally-acclaimed boutique model management company PRM London and multiple influential media partners, the project aims to discover and mentor potential male and female models, offering them a platform to showcase their talent and launch their careers.
Held at the prestigious Hilton Brighton Metropole Hotel on 6th June, the exclusive Grand Final 2014 event was a night of VIP glamour and excitement not only featuring a stunning fashion show from the 2014 finalists, but also some incredible live performances. Headlining was the hotly tipped Brighton-based rock ‘n’ roll modernists The Last Carnival, with support from songstress Miss Kyla White and The Loose Cannons. Add to the mix daring and dazzling performances by the colourful performers from Proud Cabaret Brighton, along with street dance displays from UK champion dance crew Marina Studios and you have all the ingredients for one of the biggest VIP fashion events on the south coast in 2014.
After the heats have been and gone and the final 30 remain, the Grand Final Catwalk offers the final contestants the exciting opportunity of strutting their stuff in front of the UK’s media and fashion experts, including Paulo Ribero, Founder of PRM London, John Bruce of C4’s ‘The Model Agency’, Alex Proud of C4’S ‘Four Rooms’, Electric Hair founder Mark Woolley, Next Hot Model UK founder Fatosh Kalan, founder of Brighton Fashion Week Lizzy Bishop and flying into the UK, Ms. Sherin Naiken, the CEO of the Seychelles Tourist Board.
After wowing the judges it was Robert Loydell and Daisy Boote that were the lucky winners of modeling contracts with PRM London as well as the opportunity to be whisked away on the trip of a lifetime to a photo shoot in the Seychelles Islands with top fashion photographer Darren Black, staying at stunning exclusive villas and hotels.
“Winning it was obviously amazing and life changing,” explains NHM winner Daisy. “Since then I have been doing a lot of shoots for PRM and I’m actually living in London now during the week to really develop and progress as a model. I now feel as though I have the chance to be really successful.”
Within the Seychelles’ luxurious locations, Daisy and Robert were allowed to relax and unwind with their every whim catered for, dining on world-class international and local cuisine while sipping on cocktails.
“The trip to the Seychelles was amazing,” says Robert. “The locations we visited were an absolute paradise and seeing all the different culture the islands had to offer was superb and very entertaining and interesting; from learning about the basics of the islands and seeing the rural areas of the Seychelles to relaxing and respecting nature’s finest scenery on the beaches on the different islands. It definitely was the trip of a life time.”
Although the temptation to overindulge in hedonistic hospitality might prove detrimental to the immediate career of any aspiring model, fortunately the winners also had a very full schedule of shoots at various locations all over the four islands during their seven day stay, offering plenty of time to burn off the calories with a dip in the crystal clear waters of the Indian Ocean at some of the world’s best and non-tourist beaches.
“The Creole folk couldn’t have been any more accommodating; this truly was an exceptional job and I’m so happy to have had the opportunity to shoot there with a fabulous team,” begins photographer Darren Black, who was full of praise and commendations for 2014’s winners.
“Daisy is a fantastic model who was so easy to shoot; she knows her angles and didn’t need much direction. Rob is also a really nice lad and deserving winner for 2014. Two faces of the future for sure, watch this space to see them popping up in the UK fashion press this year!”
To enter Next Hot Model 2015 or for more information on the competition visit www.nexthotmodel.co.uk