Model hunt

Anna Edwards
June 01, 2006 12:00am

AS A TEENAGER growing up in Brisbane’s south, Catherine McNeil had ambitions of becoming a mechanic.

But then she entered and won the 2003 Girlfriend Model Search and her automotive plans were put on hold for one in the international fashion scene.
After winning the competition as a 14-year-old, the former Shailer Park State High School student and Brisbane Dallys model says her life didn’t change much. “I just went back to school and used to fly to Sydney for jobs, but it did start to take off this year,” she says. She even kept up a part-time job selling popcorn.

Three years on and McNeil has swapped the popcorn for an international modelling career. She recently has shot the latest campaign for Cue, has appeared in Vogue Australia, been in the Colorado campaign and appeared for 12 major Australian designers at the recent Mercedes Australian Fashion Week in Sydney.

When she spoke with The Courier-Mail this week, on her 17th birthday, McNeil had just returned from a fashion shoot in Mauritius and was on her way to Greece for another.

She says her success in the industry can be traced back to her beginnings as a teen fashion magazine cover girl.

“I think it is a really good stepping stone for a good modelling career,” she says of the Girlfriend Model Search, now in its 15th year, which will be held from 9am until 3pm on Saturday at Westfield Carindale.

A judging panel including Sarah Oakes, editor of Girlfriend magazine, and Ursula Hufnagl, co-owner and managing director of Chic Management in Sydney, will be searching for the 2006 Girlfriend Schwarzkopf LiveColour Model.

“There are millions of exquisite girls out there but if you don’t have the personality to go with it, you don’t have a career,” Hufnagl says.

Past winners include the now internationally recognisable faces of Queenslanders Alyssa Sutherland and Samantha Harris.

“I think this model search has great credibility because of the talent we’ve found over the years,” Hufnagl says.

“Look at Alyssa Sutherland, who won in 1997, and Catherine McNeil in 2003. Both have gone on to the market worldwide and have done very well.”

Hufnagl says the exposure a contestant gains is a great way to fast-track a career in the industry.

The six finalists will appear in Girlfriend magazine. The winner will be photographed for the cover and will appear throughout the year. Finalists also receive a two-year modelling contract with Chic Management and Next Model Management, New York, and will appear on a pack of Schwarzkopf LiveColour and a LiveColour magazine advertisement. “No amount of marketing can give you that much exposure. That’s why these contests are so successful,” Hufnagl says.

The event will be hosted by TV Hits star Axle Whitehead, there will be a performance by singer/songwriter Kate Alexa and appearances by former Australian Idol stars Kate DeAraugo and Ricki Lee Coulter. Fashion parades will be held throughout the event.