Sophie Sumner,from Britain’s Next Top Model Cycle 5, emerged victorious
from the infamous America’s Next Top Model search over competitor New Yorker
Laura LaFrate. Sophie claimed Laura alongside Azmarie to be her top competition
around the fifth episode of the competition, and though Azmarie was eliminated
after a few episodes later, Laura stood ground as one of the fiercest contender
for the title after succeeding to claim Top photos a couple of times as well as
Sophie and Alisha White.
Through the whole of Cycle 18, several tensions did arise
from the Yanks against the Brits, and some cultural differences was expressed
throughout the show, but Sophie and Laura, although different in personality
and brand –one is sweet and princess-y while the other is edgy and sexy, have
proved to be good friends despite these differences.
Sophie Sumner, around the 3rd episode, was given
the Intoxibella (supermodel powers from Tyra Bank’s book Modelland)called Illuminata,
which means that every time the pink-haired Brit enters a room she lights it
up, proved to be one of the reasons that propelled the lady on top. In modeling
apparently, personality speaks a lot as well as first impression does. Of course,
it would be inconceivable if it’s not mentioned that Sophie’s got a killer
walk, where confidence and grace the judges had over and over complimented her
for.
In my humble opinion, the result was unexpected,
not because I didn’t believe that Sophie’s got it, but because both models were
neck-to-neck when it comes down to the criteria in which they were judged from.
Laura’s a High Fashion archetype which is an advantage, while Sophie stands-out
in the runway and is not easily forgotten, and though Laura rocks the edgy kind
of shot, Sophie remains a calm-head and projects in front of the camera with more
flexibility, if I may say, than her competitors throughout the cycle, and this I
think made her emerged victorious and thus the first non-American to win
America’s Next Top Model.