GMA Supermodels Shine In China

THREE MODELS shone in China at a time the country is put in negative light due to the recent hostage tragedy. Mariana del Rio, Bianca Paz and Gwen Ruais made the Philippines proud in the 5th Asian Supermodel competition in Nanning, China from Aug. 21 to Sept. 3. Mariana had rivals from India, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Korea, Japan, China and Mongolia, winning third runner-up in the prestigious contest. Bianca and Gwen also gave the country glory by bagging the special awards Ms. Photogenic and Best Runway Walk, respectively. Del Rio, Paz, and Ruais were in China for almost two weeks for the pictorials, media interviews and other pre-pageant activities. During finals night, the three wore gowns from Francis Libiran, Jonty Martinez, and Ramon Sabella. The Filipino international supermodels are also being tapped to grace the IMF’10 fashion show in Malaysia in November.

GMA Artist Center (GMAAC) head Ida Henares selected and accompanied this year’s delegates to the Asian Supermodel contest. Note that Henares is the first ever Filipino judge in the competition dominated by representatives from founding countries China, Korea, and Japan and is a member of Asian Model Association. In 2008, Henares also led GMAAC delegates Rhian Ramos, Stephanie Henares, and Arci Munoz. Rhian and Stephanie got to the Top 10 Supermodel category. Arci won the International Friendship Award and Rhian won as Miss Vitality. With Henares as judge at the 5th Asian Supermodel competition were Chairman of Korea Model Center International Toh Shin Woo, Director of Japan Modeling Agencies Association Momose Kyo, CEO of Japan Oscar Promotion Co., Ltd. Suzuki Seiji, Korean supermodel Kim Ulia, famed Chinese journalist and TV producer Sun Jianying, and Director of Tencent Internal Portal Departmen Jiang Hao. The annual Asian Supermodel competition is sponsored by the China Fashion Designers Association and the China Bentley Culture Development Co., Ltd., the biggest and most respectable modeling and management companies in Asia. The contest is broadcast on Guangxi TV and seen by about 60 million viewers in China alone.