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
Elite Model Management (MM) is a modeling agency that originated in Paris in 1972.
In 2004, the agencies in New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, and Toronto separated and formed Elite Model Management North America. Elite MM is a subsidiary of El ...
, 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
Ford Models, originally the Ford Modeling Agency, is an American international modeling agency based in New York City. It was established in 1946 by Eileen Ford and her husband Gerard W. Ford.
History 20th century
Eileen and Jerry began the bu ...
'
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
Heather Laurie Holden (born December 17, 1969) is an American-Canadian actress, producer, model, and human rights activist. She is best known for her portrayals as Marita Covarrubias in ''The X-Files'' (1996–2002), Andrea Harrison in AMC's ...
,
Alessandra Ambrosio
Alessandra Corine Ambrósio (; born 11 April 1981) is a Brazilian model. She is known for her work with Victoria's Secret and was chosen as the first spokesmodel for the company's Pink (Victoria's Secret), PINK line. She was a Victoria's Secret A ...
,
Ana Beatriz Barros,
Cindy Crawford
Cynthia Ann Crawford (born February 20, 1966) is an American model. During the 1980s and 1990s, she was among the most popular supermodels and a ubiquitous presence on magazine covers and runways, as well as fashion campaigns. She subsequently ...
,
Helena Christensen
Helena Christensen (born 25 December 1968) is a Danish fashion model. She is a former Victoria's Secret Angel, co-founder and original creative director for ''Nylon'' magazine, and she is a supporter of funding for breast cancer organizations an ...
,
Dayana Mendoza,
Melania Trump
Melania Knauss Trump (born Melanija Knavs, April26, 1970) is a Slovenian and American former model who is married to U.S. President Donald Trump. Since 2025, Melania Trump has served as the first lady of the United States, a role she previous ...
,
Olga Kurylenko
Olga Kostyantynivna Kurylenko (born 14 November 1979) is a Ukrainian-born French actress. She rose to prominence by playing the Bond girl Camille Montes in the James Bond film '' Quantum of Solace'' (2008).
Kurylenko began her career modellin ...
,
Diane Kruger
Diane Kruger (; Heidkrüger; ; born 15 July 1976) is a German actress. Early in her career, she gained worldwide recognition and received the Trophée Chopard from the Cannes Film Festival.
Kruger became known for her roles in films such as ...
,
Esther Cañadas,
Fernanda Tavares,
Frederique van der Wal,
Gisele Bündchen
Gisele Caroline Bündchen (, , born 20 July 1980) is a Brazilian fashion model. Since 2001, she has been one of the highest-paid models in the world. In 2007, Bündchen was the 16th-richest woman in the entertainment industry and earned the ...
,
Inés Rivero,
Isabeli Fontana,
Kate Dillon Levin,
Lara Stone,
Juana Burga,
Petra Němcová,
Stephanie Seymour,
Tatjana Patitz
Tatjana Patitz (25 May 1966 – 11 January 2023) was a German fashion model. She achieved international prominence in the 1980s and 1990s representing fashion designers on runways and in magazines such as ''Elle (magazine), Elle'', ''Harper's B ...
,
Ujjwala Raut,
Manasvi Mamgai,
Azra Akin,
Miriam Odemba,
Andrea Escobar and
Rolene Strauss.

From 1996 to 1999 the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
finals were recorded to make a
television documentary
Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries.
Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film.
* Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...
special called ''The Making of a Supermodel'', which aired on
E! Entertainment Television
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable television network. It is owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The channel focuses primarily on pop culture, celebrity based reality shows and movie ...
. Online, a
streaming television
Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as films and television series, streamed over the Internet. Standing in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aerial systems, cable t ...
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
Elite Model Management (MM) is a modeling agency that originated in Paris in 1972.
In 2004, the agencies in New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, and Toronto separated and formed Elite Model Management North America. Elite MM is a subsidiary of El ...
. The top three contestants are offered contracts with a guaranteed remuneration
Remuneration is the pay or other financial compensation provided in exchange for an employee's ''services performed'' (not to be confused with giving (away), or donating, or the act of providing to). Remuneration is one component of reward managem ...
.
Titleholders
* 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
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
*
*
*
Central America
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
*
*
Caribbean
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Oceania
Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...
*
*
*
*
Hosts
See also
* Elite Model Look Chile
* Elite Model Look India
* Elite Model Look Serbia
* Elite Model Look Vietnam
* Elite Model Management
Elite Model Management (MM) is a modeling agency that originated in Paris in 1972.
In 2004, the agencies in New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, and Toronto separated and formed Elite Model Management North America. Elite MM is a subsidiary of El ...
* Ford Models Supermodel of the World
* Got Talent
''Got Talent'' is a British talent show TV format conceived and owned by Simon Cowell's Syco Entertainment. It has spawned spin-offs in over 60 countries, in what is now referred to as the 'Got Talent' format, similar to that described by Frema ...
* Miss Supertalent
The Miss Supertalent of the World was founded in 2011 with a single idea that the world prove the evolution of modern-day fashion marketing, now a global leader in fashion, beauty and talent, operating in more than 80 countries. It has been hel ...
* American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
* Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...
References
{{reflist, 3
External links
Official site
The YouTube channel of Elite Model Look International
''Elite New Face'' series
on Hulu
Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...
Modeling competitions
Fashion events in France
Recurring events established in 1983