Girl On Top
No longer unknown in the modelling world, Ayu Gani is the petite yet feisty Indonesian beauty who won the hearts of millions of viewers — as well as a contract with Storm Models,a Harper’s Bazaar Cover, a brand new Subaru XV STI car and the chance to be ‘Face Of ZALORA in our latest campaign when she bagged the coveted title of Asia’s Next Top Model in its third installment earlier in June.
Asia’s Next Top Model is the Asian spin-off of Tyra Banks’ successful model search programme, which has launched high-profile modelling careers of Thailand’s Jessica Amornkuldilok and Malaysia’s Sheena Liam (check out Liam’s editorial here). Held in Singapore, the aspiring models took on this once-in-a-lifetime challenge, dressed head-to-toe in ZALORA’s high-street fashion must-haves. With high-stakes challenges, catwalk shows, fashion photoshoots and public appearances, Gani and the girls were put through a rigorous modelling bootcamp to uncover who amongst the girls deserved to be on top.
Gani had a quiet but steady roll in this year’s competition — she really was the dark horse in the race to the top. From the get-go, her strength, kindness, and flair for fashion was evident. Yet, she wasn’t the one to steal the limelight. From mentoring the girls on their catwalk strut to being praised for her choice of casting outfits, and being part of the winning team in the K-pop dance challenge, Gani was a team-player and stood for what she believed in — even if that meant not participating in a challenge which involved a ‘nude’ photoshoot. Even then, she bit the bullet and bagged a victory when she received praises from the panel. The girl really couldn’t do anything wrong.
The real highlight for Gani was during the ZALORA Challenge. Meghna Mistry, ZALORA’s Creative Director instantly saw her potential,and told the judging panel, “When I see these images, I see our brand within this girl”. Georgina agreed, and said to Gani, “You are the perfect catalogue model; there’s nothing ZALORA.COM could want more”! and we totally agree! Gani’s ability to think on her feet when it comes to striking poses, coupled with a professional attitude and friendly smile, made her stand out from the group and connect with the camera. Joel Lim, ZALORA’s resident photographer, chimed in with his wise insights telling the aspiring model “Being a gambling man, I’m going to put my money on you”. Guess what? Joel was right.
We get the scoop on what went down in the top model house, her fashion inspirations, style secrets — and treat ZALORA Magazine readers to an exclusive behind the scenes look into Gani’s ZALORA photoshoot.
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