The CW confirmed last week that after 12 years and 22 seasons, “America’s Next Top Model” will finally be ending. The show has one final hurrah, and the series finale will air Dec. 4. In honor of a show that has as many seasons as this reporter’s life, let’s look back on the lessons Tyra Banks taught us all.
1. Expand the definition of beauty – ANTM was groundbreaking for promoting contestants of all different backgrounds. For instance, Isis King was an openly transgender contestant on the show in 2008, years before Laverne Cox or Caitlyn Jenner entered the scene.
2. Never make excuses – Girls who make excuses were always eliminated. Even though fashion is clearly a collaborative industry, blaming your bad photo on the photographer, the weather or the clothes was the surest way to get you kicked out of the Top Model House. Tyra was all about taking personal responsibility.
3. Perception matters – How you come across to other people can make or break you. The famous “We were all rooting for you, Tiffany!” rant was prompted because Tiffany didn’t come off like she was taking the opportunity seriously enough. You’ve got to be humble and grateful and attentive all the time. It’s a tall order.
4. Create fearlessly – So, some of the shoots were bad. In Cycle (season) 17, the girls were styled to look like greek salads and posed with giant hunks of feta cheese. It was a mess, but part of art is not being afraid to fail.
And some of the best photos, like Eva’s Cycle 8 tarantula shot, were successful because the whole team embraced that fearless mentality.
5. Evaluate media critically – We talk a lot about how the magic of make-up and editing can put forth unrealistic beauty standards, but no show breaks down the process for the public the way America’s Next Top Model does.
The hours of hair and makeup styling, posing at exactly the right angle and even post-production editing is what took Allison Harvard from being an awkward-looking girl from Texas to an actual Cover Girl.
It seems weird for a show about modeling to make us feel better about our own bodies, but that’s exactly what ANTM did.
