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Elle Macpherson’s Next Top Model is back — and two Cork girls are set to make it to the final 12, says Annmarie O’Connor

PARIS, Milan, London, New York, Cork? Fashion’s ‘big four’ has co-opted a Leeside space in its front row, thanks to Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model. The popular reality television series (formerly Britain’s Next Top Model) starts its eighth season on Jul 9 with two Rebel County beauties featuring among its 12 finalists.

With three million viewers, supermodel host Elle Macpherson and her celebrity judges, the opportunity for the Irish fashion fledglings is immense.

The winner receives a contract with international agency Models 1, a Company magazine cover and feature, a contract with Revlon cosmetics, an international campaign with high-street brand Miss Selfridge, a luxury holiday to The Atlantis Palm in Dubai and an apartment at London’s trendy 51 Buckingham Gate.

The stakes are high, but is this just another ‘made-for-telly’ modelling shtick? To understand what drives these aspiring models to spend several weeks in a house-share with a dozen others vying for the same job is to understand the ‘Tyra effect’. In 2003, American model and media mogul Tyra Banks devised the TV concept for America’s Next Top Model — it was broadcast in 170 countries with the format adapted by 48 different countries, including Britain and Ireland.

The series has been criticised for never having produced a bona fide ‘top model’ and for exploiting the aspirations of fame-hungry wannabes. What can’t be disputed is the top international judging talent, which this year includes designer Julien Macdonald, supermodel Tyson Beckford and designer/reality star Whitney Port. All eyes will be on Beckford and Port, whose personalities look set to soften a panel that in the past has been accused of undue harshness.

“To the girls, I think I am sort of like an older sister,” says Port (27), whose tenure on shows like The Hills and The City affords her an insight into 24-7 camera scrutiny. “I’m the closest in age to them and I think I’m the closest in knowing what they’re really going through as young women trying to make it in this fashion industry. So I really try to say to them what I think they need to hear, but I can also be honest.”

Beckford, 41, who is credited as being the first male supermodel and is creating his own fashion and skincare lines, is equally empathetic. “I’m tough and I’m fair but I really have a soft side for them, because, being a model as well, you understand what they’re going through and you want the best for them,” he says.

So is the weekly panel critique as daunting as it seems? Dubliner Hannah Devane (22), who placed 10th in last year’s final 13, and is represented by Andrea Roche Model Agency, sees it as part of the process. “You’re never going to get that advice anywhere else,” says the UCD graduate. “Some people think it’s really harsh what they say, but I think it’s all there to help you in the long run. What I’ve learned from them has definitely helped me in my own development as a model.”

It’s this ability to take critique that both judges see as key. “We don’t want to tear anybody down,” says Beckford. “We just want to make you better. It doesn’t help the show and it doesn’t help the other girls around you. I’m passionate about finding that next ‘it’ girl.”

Stacey Haskins, 20, who placed sixth in last season’s show, has a different view. “We never really saw the judges as much as they made it out to be on TV,” says the Belfast girl.

“You really didn’t get mentored on the show. We were just thrown in the deep end and expected to work it out.” She cites her modelling agent Rebecca Morgan as a true mentor.

The hands-off approach is not without reason. “I think there’s a conscious decision from the producers, and Elle’s standpoint, that what we see is their body of work and not necessarily what goes on behind-the-scenes,” says Port. Her contact with the models was limited to overseeing one photo shoot and the infamous make-over episode.

Beckford, who is nicknamed ‘the godfather of fashion’ for signing new talent, appears passionate about the process. Tweeting under @TysonCBeckford, the New York native met with an aspiring Irish male model while visiting Dublin to promote the show. “I mentor more people than you would imagine, he says. “I know when I was coming up in the industry, I didn’t have any one that I could even ask about anything. I understand the importance of it and it’s great to be able to do it.”

Given the notoriously competitive industry, what do the Irish bring to the table? “I noticed a kind of delicate sweetness to the Irish girls that the British girls didn’t necessarily bring to the table,” says Port, who cites ‘softness’ and ‘personal style’ as equally salient qualities. As for Beckford? “They’re very laid-back and humble and were very eager to know what they were doing wrong,” he says.

With details under lock and key until the new season airs on Jul 9, fans of the show will have to wait two weeks to see our Cork girls in action. Whether Ireland produces the show’s next top model is still hotly embargoed.

* Britain & Ireland’s Next Top Model is on Mondays at 9pm on Sky Living, from Jul 9, and Sky Go.