The 2023 Models.com Model of the Year Awards is the collective voice of hundreds of industry members that are top photographers, editors, stylists, beauty creatives, casting directors, and of course, you, the viewing public and fashion’s biggest fans.
The Models.com digital community has also spoken — impacted by models who motivated their fans to support, with close to 30,000 votes submitted that pushed choices that were just as exciting as the selects provided by those in the know.
The top award of Model of the Year goes to the models that were relentless in making an impact with full industry support. Breakout Stars had a substantial presence on the modeling scene, with their careers just beginning to take off in the past few seasons. Social Movers of the Year were the models who looked beyond frivolity to use their social numbers and heightened platform to change the world for the better. Finally and for the fourth 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 6 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 2023’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 2023’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.
For the fourth year, Models.com’s 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award goes to a model who changed the fashion industry in more ways than one. Bethann Hardison celebrated many milestones this year – the 50th anniversary of the historic Battle of Versailles, 15 years since her consultation on the game changing 2008’s Vogue Italia Black issue, and co-directing a new documentary about her life, Invisible Beauty, which premiered at Sundance. In her expansive five-decade career, the model, agent, and activist has advocated for diversity in the fashion industry cofounding the Black Girls Coalition to address the underrepresentation of people of color and helping guide some of the top models, designers, and creatives in the business including Naomi Campbell, Iman, Veronica Webb and countless more. As she persists in her influential behind the scenes work, Hardison continues to challenge herself as she continues to write her autobiography between Mexico and Brooklyn.
