CDL had the opportunity to get the lowdown on Oxygen’s upcoming season of The Face straight from two of the show’s mentors, supermodels Anne V and Lydia Hearst. Lydia and Anne were very personable and friendly and offered a great deal of inside sccopage about the show they star in alongside supermodel Naomi Campbell and host Nigel Barker.
The renowned models, having years of experience in the industry, act as mentors to 12 supermodel hopefuls, known as “modeltestants.” They advise the modeltestants on a wide variety of things, including how to convey a sense of professionalism, how to work well with others, and making sure they’re well aware of the fact that beauty is simply not enough. Anne said it best when she shared, “There is no supermodel handbook,” so many of the things the mentors teach the modeltestants are skills that will teach them “not just how make it, but how to stay in the game.”
The beauties explained that they both enjoy their roles as mentors on the show because of the different perspectives they gain working on the other side of the make-up brushes. Lydia takes it all in as a learning experience that is both fun and challenging, as the decisions she makes for her models are critical: one wrong choice in a look can cost the model her spot. She enjoys seeing the models’ personalities come through and watching them “transform from rookie to model” right before her eyes.
Anne describes her role as mentor on the show as “a dream come true,” wishing she had had the benefit of professional guidance when she first entered the industry. She also loves working with Naomi and Lydia. She explains how hard it is to pick the girls she’ll mentor because they are each so unique and beautiful in different ways. In the end, she says she always goes with the girls who seem “right for [her]” and tends to only choose those who seem like hard workers. She especially appreciates those who are professional, determined, elegant, classy, and possess a great personality. She also wants girls who play nice with one another.
Lydia looks for unique set of qualities within her potential mentees. She wants to see an inner light — an excitement within them — and an unparalleled amount of determination to make it in the industry. Lydia loves sharing her experiences with the modeltestants and enjoys a good challenge. Lydia believes that to be successful, and eventually become the face of a brand, a model must be professional, work hard, and know who she’s working for really well. Know the brands well, very well. Both supermodels say nothing replaces hard work and being professional when trying to break into modeling. They both recommend against shortcuts and certain questionable websites that allow users to post pictures for potential “agents” to see. They warn those wanting to model to be cautious with sites like this.
Both ladies agree that working together and working well with others is a must. This is one reason the challenges on The Face are all team-based. They want the modeltestants to work well together and support one another, with each having equal opportunity to succeed on the show and beyond. The ladies also shared some of the unique challenges that the potential models will face on this season of The Face, which premiers on Wednesday, March 5 at 10PM. The modeltestants will have to pose in a store window as mannequins, create a viral video, do some choreography, write scripts, and participate on the runway.
Anne and Lydia also revealed their fun side by sharing their favorite shows — besides The Face, of course! When Anne has free time, she enjoys watching Millionaire Matchmaker, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and shows on the food network. Lydia’s guilty pleasure is the Real Housewives franchise. We support it.
CDL is grateful for the opportunity to have had a sneak peek at the new season and a chance to get to know these two legendary supermodels! Remember to plant that sexy body of yours in front of a television set on Wednesday, March 5 to catch season 2 of The Face on Oxygen on at 10PM!
About the show:
Throughout the season, the young women selected on Team Naomi, Team Anne V and Team Lydia will have the opportunity to make a life-changing transformation through unprecedented access to clients, national brands and iconic mentorships. It takes a team of “FaceMakers,” or fashion insiders, to transform a model into a supermodel and the most influential names in the industry will lend their expertise this season including Frédéric Fekkai, ELLE Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Robbie Myers, Pamela Rolland, RuPaul, Tyson Beckford and Karen Elson. Each week, the brand representatives for the Campaign Challenge will choose the winning team, leaving each supermodel coach from the bottom two teams to nominate a member of their team for elimination and the winning coach to decide who will be sent home.
Image credit to Oxygen