Stunning young hopefuls lined the stage at Melbourne’s Chadstone shopping centre on Thursday for the third stop in a whirlwind nationwide tour to select finalists for series seven of hit FOX8 show Australia’s Next Top Model.
Judges Charlotte Dawson, Jez Smith and former model Sarah Murdoch, (who catapulted the Australian series to international fame when she announced the wrong winner in last year’s competition), spent the day scouring through a swarm of talent to select 100 lucky ladies to move onto the next phase of the audition process in Sydney.
Looking pretty in pink 16 year-old hopeful Gabrielle Papadopoulos eagerly awaited her moment to make a lasting impression on the judges.
Guided by the moral support of her sister Catherine, who was never far from her side, Gabrielle was hoping she’d have what it takes to stand out from the crowd.
“Looking around there’s so many tall and beautiful girls but I’m hoping my charisma will stand out. I just made the height requirements at 172 cm so I’m so happy,” she said.
Growing up Gabrielle was captivated by the modelling careers of both her sister and mother.
“Modelling is like a family thing for us,” Gabrielle said. “My Mum Caterina worked for Vivien’s modelling agency and got to be on television, magazines and travel a lot overseas. It has always looked like so much fun to me.”
Having competed in a Girlfriend competition before, Gabrielle credits her experience and family support to getting past her nerves.
“I’m lucky to have some experience to help me get through this. My parents have always believed in me and given me confidence” she said, adding “even though I’m young and starting VCE they believe I have the maturity to balance my studies and pursue my passion. It’s never been an ego thing for them it’s just that they help me because they believe I can do it.”
Despite the support of her parents and commitment to achieving her lifelong dream Gabrielle is not naive to the industry pressures of becoming a model.
“It’ll no doubt be hard but I’m just going to have to put that effort in because I really know I want this bad enough,” she said.
Following this week’s nationwide audition process for Australia’s Next Top Model 16 finalists will be chosen to live together in a luxury Sydney mansion where they will battle it out through a series of photography and catwalk challenges to prove they have what it takes to launch an international modelling career and be crowned Australia’s next top model.
“I don’t have a problem living with other people because I come from a large family of eight,” Gabrielle says confidently. “But dealing with criticism may be another thing altogether.”
Let the cat fights begin!
