Vietnamese student wins first prize in int’l modelling contest

The contest was organised by two modelling companies, Glamour Fair (in London and Miami) and A La Carte (in Paris). Held annually, the contest seeks out potential models to work for the two prestigious companies in Britain, the US and France, drawing hundreds of well known participants from all over Europe (mostly Britain); Ha Anh was the o­nly Asian candidate.

Ha Anh went to the Amsterdam High School in Ha Noi, focusing o­n English language, and as a young girl won a scholarship to study in Britain. She has a good singing voice, so also won a scholarship for a o­ne-year course at the British Academy of Music in London. She is now in her final year in the business management department at Reading University in Britain.

Since high school, she has often been invited to sing and perform at student fashion and music shows, but hasn’t done any professional modelling. As an amateur, she has been in favour with famous Vietnamese fashion designers such as Vo Viet Chung and Ton Hieu Anh, who have designed their costumes or reserved them exclusively for her.

Last December, she participated in the 2005 Miss Viet Nam in HCM City, finishing in the top 10 and winning the prize for best body.

Ha Anh surpassed 12 girls in the final examination. The jury made a decision after watching the candidates’ performances and reviewing the shots the professional photographers took.

"She has a lot of potential... We see in her confidence, determination, a great capacity for communication, and a noble and attractive performance style that comes very naturally," the jury concluded.

Ha Anh said: "I was lucky to get the support of the makeup specialist Kevin Nguyen, who has worked for Versace and Valentino fashion shows. I o­nly knew to try my best because it is a fair contest for finding potential talent. The praise from the audience (the model companies) made me much more confident. After the contest, I got some invitations from some model companies, but haven’t agreed yet because I have to return to university to pass the graduation exam."