alexandra girdwood

Australia’s Next Top Model 4 Round-Up: Demelza Takes Line Honours

11:03AM Clem Bastow | Evidently our “C’mon Tiny Mouth!” campaign to get Alex across the line in the Australia’s Next Top Model finale fell on deaf ears, because – thanks to the public vote after a split judges’ vote – Demelza Reveley is the Cycle 4 winner. She did not have Kirstie Clements’ (Editor In Chief of Vogue Australia) vote, which means we can all look forward to finding Demelza in an advertorial shoot stuffed up the back of the magazine near the stockists’ list. No cover for you, Demelza! And, hmm, I wonder what the press thinks about the result? A sampling of headlines: Teen bully Demelza Reveley wins Next Top Model ‘Bully’ 16-year-old takes out Next Top Model final ‘Bitchketeer’ Demelza Reveley wins Australia’s Next Top Model And so on. They make a good point – with the focus on bullying, cyber bullying and harassment in the media currently, what message does it send to young girls? That you can bully your way to the top? That it’s okay to be a bully if you have a pretty face? Unfortunately I can offer no thoughts on the finale as I wasn’t even within a 10km radius of anyone with a) Foxtel or b) a VCR and b.i) a courier helicopter, so can only go on what is reported in the papers and what was relayed to me via SMS. And on the latter topic, the bulk of the SMSes were along the lines of “OMG WTF no Jodhi?” – evidently Ms Meares has a fear of live television (and sent well wishes to the finalists via video link). So, er, doesn’t that mean she’s a pointless choice as a host, if the “Live Finale” is the glittering jewel in the AusNTM crown? Give the gig to Charlotte Dawson! Did you watch the finale? Did you press your big red button and vote for Demelza? More »

Top Model “Tragedy”; Won’t Someone Please Think Of The Children?!

10:51AM Clem Bastow | This year’s cycle of Australia’s Next Top Model is proving to be worth its weight in gold when it comes to the sort of scandals that the tabloid press eat right up, and today’s kerfuffle is the pick of the bunch. News.com.au are tagging this lead/spoiler story about tonight’s episode, focusing on pouty Alexandra, as a “Surgery ‘Tragedy’”. Now, what does that make you think of – a girl putting her hand through the window and slicing her tendons? Maybe one of the contestants having to be carted off for emergency hospital care, like Eboni with her pinched nerve? Maybe one of them, OMG, DIES? Well, if you picked any of them, you’d be wrong. It seems Alexandra’s “tragedy” was to have two collagen injections in her famously “tense” mouth. TRAGEDY!! Professional photographer Juli Balla, who appears in the episode, was shocked someone so young and beautiful felt the pressure to resort to cosmetic surgery at such a young age. “It’s a tragedy what she has done,” Balla said. “Obviously Alex is not confident in who she is, which is not a good sign at the start of your modelling career.” Evidently Priscilla Leighton Clarke was also unimpressed, which is a big umm-ahhh for Alex considering no matter who ends up in the final two, Priscilla’s the one whose agency has to be prepared to represent for them. I do feel sorry for Alex; she’s certainly been the victim of the editing suite from episode one onwards, and I’m starting to think – along with much of the Vogue Forums – that she’s actually quite smart and nice, and just doesn’t want to play dumbarse like half the rest of the contestants. But – unless something is revealed in Ep 6 (which I’ve not yet viewed) – why do they always see cosmetic surgery as being some sort of indicator of low self-esteem or self confidence in these instances? Yes, they can lead to excessive cosmetic tinkering, but did they consider the fact that maybe she just wanted to get collagen? You know, because she’s an adult and can do what she wants with her life and body? More »