The 2021 Models.com Model of the Year Awards (MOTY) is the collective voice of over 400 industry members including top photographers, editors, stylists, beauty creatives, casting directors, and you, the viewing public and fashion’s biggest fans. Industry participants this year included Edward Enninful, Bethann Hardison, Ferdinando Verderi, Melanie Ward, Anita Bitton, Carlos Nazario, Michelle Lee, Barbara Pfister, Hung Vanngo, Duffy, Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, and many more. The Models.com community has also spoken, with thousands of members pushing choices that were every bit as exciting as those provided by insiders.
The top award of Model of the Year goes to the models that were relentless in making an impact with the industry supporting accordingly. Breakout Stars had a substantial presence on the modeling scene, only their careers have just begun to take off in the past several seasons. Social Mover of the year were the models who looked beyond social numbers and used their heightened platform to change the world for the better. Models Turned Actors were already known within the fashion industry but 2021 saw them land buzzworthy TV/movie productions in entertainment. Finally and for the second time, Models.com presents the Lifetime Achievement Award, given to a model that has exceeded in outstanding achievements in their career.
The awards are broken down into 7 categories as follows:
The singular face that defined the year as a whole with ubiquitous industry demand and presence. They distinguished themselves via top-tier bookings with the best photographers, stylists, and clients earning next-level visibility, making them 2021’s foremost star.
The singular face that defined the year as a whole with ubiquitous industry demand and presence. They distinguished themselves via top tier bookings with the best photographers, stylists and clients earning next-level visibility, making them 2021’s foremost star.
Like Model of the Year, the Breakout Star has had a substantial presence on the modeling scene, only their careers have just begun to take off in the past several seasons. As a newcomer to the fashion industry, these rising stars have racked up coveted campaigns and impressive editorial work in a short period of time and are set to leave a lasting mark on the industry.
Like Model of the Year, the Breakout Star has had a substantial presence on the modeling scene, only their careers have just begun to take off in the past several seasons. As a newcomer to the fashion industry, these rising stars have racked up coveted campaigns and impressive editorial work in a short period of time and are set to leave a lasting mark on the industry.
These are the people who looked beyond social numbers and used their heightened platform to change the world for the better. Whether it was organizing within their community or bringing awareness to vital issues, these leaders were a powerful presence in a year that was full of strife.
These models were already known within the fashion industry but 2021 saw them land acting milestones in buzzworthy TV/movie productions. These model-turned-actors are still working with some of the best clients/photographers/stylists thus increasing their social media exposure rapidly with a few becoming the most sought-after brand ambassadors for top clients globally.
For the second time ever, Models.com’s 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to a supermodel that has continued to achieve impressive levels of success, after a comeback of the ages. For over three decades, Kate Moss has dominated the industry with consistently covetable bookings and this year was no different with cover stories for British Vogue, i-D, Self Service, and The Perfect Magazine’s 0 issue. Her inescapable presence this year included her return to the runway since her 2018 hiatus, with ‘by request’ appearances for both Fendi Couture shows and an added Fendace appearance to boot. She now is all about her London based agency, KMA where she continues to raise up the new guard of formidable muses like Jordan Barrett, Stella Jones, Elfie Reigate, and daughter, Lila Moss.
