Marie Claire, January 2009 - Why you should read It

Marie Claire - The Asian Issue - January 2009

I very excitedly bought a copy of this issue, well for an obvious reason but I was also looking forward to flipping thru its glossy pages as it is 'The Asian Issue'. It was great to see familiar faces, my peers Rain Chan and the classy lady Eloise.

Then One of the stories caught my eye but after the read I felt it rather disturbingly poked my eye. The title of that story read,

'WHITHER MALAYSIA'S SUPERMODEL?'
There used to be a time when we knew our local models by name - Bernie, Kavita, Grace, Ling, Azura. These days, the our predilection for an "international" feel seems to have edged out of the Malaysian model. Ironically, it is the Asian face that is the rage in the West today. So where do our girls stand? Who is our next generation? More importantly will there be one?

So what disturbed me so much you ask? The fact that I was expecting the article to name a few new faces. Well it did, only Angie Ng. Angie Ng is awfully tall and extremely modelesque but I believe there are many other local models that deserve a mention.

The article which quotes a couple of top model agents in Malaysia goes on to say that the current models don't stand out and are not memorable. I would just like to ask "why?"

It shamelessly cites that clients, stylists and photographers like using young Caucasian models.

So does that mean to become a supermodel in Malaysia we have to become a Caucasian? Is that even possible?

Have you ever been to Indonesia Fashion Week? Guess who are the majority of models? Indonesians! China Fashion Week? All Chinese maybe with a token or two Caucasian. India Fashion Week? Indian Models!
How does one even shine when it is already engraved in Malaysian's heads that foreign is better? Who is to blame? Our genetics? How much can a model do alone to stand out? She has to be booked by someone....What does she do if these fellow Malaysians who have the power to say 'What's In and What's Not' imprudently insist on using Russian and Brazillian models?

Does anyone have an answer? Please do get a copy, read and share your feedback.