Model of the Year Awards 2015
Posted by models.com | December 18th, 2015
Models.com 2015 Industry Awards
The Models.com Model of the Year (MOTY) Industry Awards are the voice of over 250 voters representing a wide range of the industry’s top professionals, including many of the industry’s top stylists, designers, photographers, editors, hair and makeup artists and casting directors, and a wide range of the next generation of the industry’s emerging creative talents. Participants include Katie Grand, Carlyne Cerf De Dudzeele, Bethann Hardison, Edward Enninful, Emma Summerton, John Pfeiffer, Barbara Pfister, Benjamin Puckey, Hung Vanngo, Julie Ragolia, Lotta Volkova and many more!
Fashion’s biggest fans also got in on the fun: the Readers’ Choice section offers an up-to-date and often surprising selection chosen by you, the MDC readers. The people have spoken – thousands of them in fact and their choices are every bit as exciting as those provided by insiders.
The awards are broken down in 11 categories as follows:
Model of the Year: Women
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 2015’s foremost star.
Runner Up
All MOTY Women Nominees
Model of the Year: Men
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 2015’s foremost star.
Runner Up
All MOTY Men Nominees
Breakout Star: Women
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.
Runner Up
All Breakout Star Women Nominees
Breakout Star: Men
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.
Runner Up
All Breakout Star Men Nominees
Comeback of the Year
Absence makes the heart grow fonder and these beauties took extended breaks from the rigors of the modeling world only to return stronger than ever. Whether they opened a noteworthy show, or found themselves on the cover of a cutting-edge magazine, these comeback stars have proven themselves essential.
Runner Up
Industry’s Vote
Photo by Antonio de Moraes Barros Filho/WireImage, Versace S/S 2016 Show
Readers’ Choice
Photo by Antonio de Moraes Barros Filho/WireImage, Versace S/S 2016 Show
All Comeback of the Year Nominees
Social Media Star WOMEN
If the past year has taught us anything it is that every tweet, Instagram photo, and like adds up to a powerful presence within the world of fashion. These models have leveraged their followings into key bookings and heightened influence, inciting a media frenzy with each and every post.
Runner Up
All Social Media Star Nominees
Social Media Star MEN
If the past year has taught us anything it is that every tweet, Instagram photo, and like adds up to a powerful presence within the world of fashion. These models have leveraged their followings into key bookings and heightened influence, inciting a media frenzy with each and every post.
Runner Up
All Social Media Star Nominees (Men)
Humanitarian
Nothing is more important than giving back to the community and during the past year these models have inspired us all by putting charity first. Devoting their time, energy and celebrity to causes big and small, these women raise awareness and bring hope to those who need it most.
Runner Up
All Humanitarian Nominees
Alek Wek campaigns as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador for human rights with a focus on refugees, women and children, as a former Sudanese refugee herself. She is the ambassador for the H&M Conscious Foundation and also raises awareness about HIV/AIDS.
Cameron has actively supported global climate change through her determined efforts this year. After organizing a march against climate change with People’s Pilgrimage across the Brooklyn Bridge in October she went backstage at the United Nation’s COP21 climate change convention in Paris to oversee the unprecedented negotiations.
Since her brother’s diagnosis with autism, Jacquelyn has tirelessly dedicated her support to autism charities. This year she brought out the stars for A Night for Autism a silent auction benefiting Autism Speaks.
The daughter of a gay father and a lesbian mother through IVF, Josephine has been a longtime supporter and spokeswoman for the Family Equality Council. Her activism came to wider attention this year after she spoke out in response to remarks by Dolce & Gabbana against same-sex parents and children born through IVF.
Karlie Kloss created charity initiatives Karlie’s Kookies, which provides meals with sale proceeds to those in need around the world and Kode with Karlie, which helps create coding education programs in high schools and scholarships for female teens.
As founder of the Liya Kebede Foundation, Liya works to advance safe motherhood and pregnancy throughout Africa. Her clothing line LemLem also supports traditional weavers in her native Ethiopia in an effort to preserve their rich history.
Natalia’s Naked Heart Foundation builds playgrounds for disadvantaged youths throughout Russia and she has most recently released Elbi, a micro-philanthropy app in partnership with 31 charities. Natalia is also involved in several other foundations including Hear the World and the Tiger Trade Campaign to stop trade in tiger parts and products.
After surviving the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Petra founded the Happy Hearts Fund, which works to rebuild schools in areas affected by natural disasters. To date, the organization has invested nearly $15 million for 122 schools across the Americas and Asia.
Sara’s tireless work at The Model Alliance, especially for child models; giving models a voice and a safe haven, along with campaigning against labor abuses in the modeling industry deserves acknowledgement.
Toni’s work with Plan International has garnered financial support for girls through the world in an improvised, uneducated state through various fundraising events.
Best Street Style
The sidewalk is the new catwalk and these models bring fashion to the streets with outlandish and eye-catching looks that have made them the girls to watch for off-duty style. Some have taken their street style prowess one step further, broadening their horizons by acting as stylist on editorial shoots.
Runner Up
Street Style Nominees
Celebrity as Model: Women
Celebrities have become an unavoidable presence in luxury advertising, but certain stars are every bit as captivating as the models. Putting their posing skills to good use (often honed during their career beginnings as models) and bringing with them an air of Hollywood glamour, these are the celebrities who play the role of model with ease.
Runner Up
Celeb Model Nominees
Celebrity as Model: Men
Celebrities have become an unavoidable presence in luxury advertising, but certain stars are every bit as captivating as the models. Putting their posing skills to good use (often honed during their career beginnings as models) and bringing with them an air of Hollywood glamour, these are the celebrities who play the role of model with ease.
Runner Up
Celeb Model Nominees
Many readers don’t know anything about fashion and models.
They know what they like and they know what sells
gigi hadid? kendall jenner? are they for real?!?!
Readers selected mostly the same, or nearly the same, as the industry, so it can’t be that bad.
KIND OF A JOKE LIST.
HAHA Carol, indeed. 🙁
I’m so disappointed with this list. The pole has only been out for like a week and the result is already in, right during the holiday season where people are out and about having vacation. Models.com couldn’t even start at the beginning of Decemeber and ends at the end of the year. This is pure joke from models.com
what’s the point of this ranking? we all know its all about instagram/facebook followers and it doesnt matter who’s best. It’s quite sad
Um… Nobody does Facebook anymore
It’s a joke really.
Its very mainstream… its indeed about the social media, now that seems more important than working with the right people, and that’s why no one remains exciting for a long period anymore. People outside the fashion world don’t care about many artistic and conceptual aspects regarding castings and aesthetics, just about fame.
Gigi might be getting some jobs lately, BUT she is really plain compared to the other REAL fashion and magazine models. That UK Vogue cover and story is so bad. She should just stick to Sports Illustrated and bikini stories. And kundull kartrashian… everything about her is 100% BS. Just look at the Dec US Vogue story.. she looks so YUCK in it, how can Anna Wintour even approved?? No wonder that Dec issue is so thin, noone is buying!
I’m pretty sad, that currently the presence on instagram and facebook is more important than everything else. Kendell Jenner is surely pretty, but i don’t get this kardashian-hype. I’m from Europa, i often can’t understand the US-trends anyway. Here i think, there are hardly any people, who are interested in the Kardeshian-way of living…
This poll has clearly ruffled a few ‘fashionable’ feathers but matter of the fact is that this poll is a clear representation for whats going on in the fashion industry. The top fashion houses are of course multi dollar/pound businesses that need to thrive commercially. The only way to tap into the biggest market possible, to reach the eyes of millions, is to use the most accessible. the supermodels, turned into actresses, turned into musicians, and now currently turned into social media sensations. The Billions of people that will never see this poll may not know about fashion, but they are the ones buying it. From fragrance to couture, the hard sell starts somewhere. You may not like it guys… but Kendall, Gigi and Bella are viable commercial guaranteed success, that equals money. Models.com, should now be shot down for this.
*NOT…. Models.com should NOT be shot down for this! hahah
too bad cause it made me LOL
Where is Gisele!?
Lawdddd, I do not agree with 97% of the results. Could yall have been more obvious with the Gigi and Kendall wins? The constant exposure of those two girls will ruin their careers. Stop forcing them down our throats.
Raquel had a comeback? When did she actually go away?
Meh…………………….
LIU WEN. Totally agree with this one !!! love her cool styles and sweet dimples
yeah,she is an amazing girl!
PLEASE READ: A fair selection process consists of judging people on the their ability to do the job not on the basis of their family celebrity status. It’s extremely unfair. Yes, I think Kendall Jenner, Gigi & Bella Hadid are gorgeous girls but are they being granted the jobs fairly ? Don’t try to argue and say this is the way the industry is going its actually pathetic and a slap in the face to the many young male and females that sacrifice so much for this industry. Everyone needs to be more of a individual and stop trying to follow the trend.
I find this very offensive to females: Yes, I think Andreja Pejic is an amazing male model, but he isn’t a female so how is he being listed under the female category. You can’t be more offensive to females. Stop, comparing a natural born male to a natural born female. If, you want to create a category called
androgynous do that.
It’s discouraging and painfully obvious that Kendall Jenner didn’t work for her modeling career. TRUE STATEMENT. All, other girls attend castings and suddenly Kendall Jenner confirms VS.
PS: My hope is that the industry recovers from all of this social media hype. There are so many models that buy their followers and its obvious, so I don’t understand why it’s about how many followers a model has.
Speak Up people and be a voice.
Andreja Pejic had done her transgender operations she’s officially a woman since 2015
What you said here concerning Andreja Pejic is offensive on so many levels I could not even begin to go into them. Fact is she has undergone gender affirmation surgery but even if she had not –it’s still hideously offensive and ignorant.
OMG, what a bunch of rubbish. I can just imagine a bunch of self serving ‘industry people’ brimming with so much self importance that they actually think they are seriously doing something important. Here’s the scenario; “What are you doing today?, Oh I can’t talk, I’m a casting person (or industry try hard trying to win brownie points) and I’m way too busy trying to stop the abuse of endangered indigenous Peruvian heirloom vegetables, posting videos of dancing cats on Facebook with me in the background wearing groovy glasses AND voting for Model Of the Year!!”. What a J-O-K-E!
hmmmmm, Ill have to give those choices some thought…………………W
I’m not even surprised if the readers pick Kendall, Gigi and Cara. When a publication as big as Vogue continues to endorse these so-called “models” instead of those who works hard without connections whatsoever–don’t even bother to make this vote. And there’s no need to include a Social Media category. It’s stupid. Even if you’re a monkey who walks runway, if you have 10 mil followers you’ll win it. Tbh i lost my faith in MDC since they list girls like Cara and Kate Upton in their New Supers list. Embarrassing.
Kendal, Gigi and also Cara in this list show how much media influencies people’s mind. Despite i really consider them social media stars instead of supermodels. I have more respect for Cara like a model, despite she’s a media star like Kendall and Gigi than i have for Kendall that is more a reality show celebrity that suddenly turned model and the Hadid’s sisters too.
And Justin Bieber in the man choice, seriously? SMFH.
Kendall, Gigi, Lucky Blue, Cara, Justin Bieber, Ansel Elgort I already expected this
Congrats to Anna Ewers tho, my favorite is Humanitarian Award, I think all of them are the winners of this category
<3 from Indonesia
These awards are amazing! There should also be a section for ‘Best Model booker of the year’, that would be a good addition as well as best ‘model card designer ‘. And also best Model that works out.
total b.s. ..kendall ang gg? wtf? seriously..they are not high fashion models at all..not blue cheap materials..yuck
I mean to say the best fitness / work out type of model that has the most instagram followers.
Guys,
Get over yourselves. You know know nothing about fashion. Girls like Cara, Gigi , Kendall are in fashion today. Just like at one point Kate Moss hit not being very tall. These girls are gorgeous, unique, smart . They have a voice and more importantly they sell. If you are a magazine editor you want someone who will actually make readers buy the magazine and not some very unhappy opinionated people who love to complain about other successes but will actually never buy anything. Again get over , this is what fashion is now. Kudos to models.com for doing this and providing us with real and current results. Congrats to Gigi , Kendall and all the others .
Derek Zoolander?! LMAO!!! This is a bad joke…
sick of looking at Gigi and Kendall’s name like they are the queens of this industry. Don’t know what modellng means anymore now that everything is determined by instagram followers.
I’m so sad about this. Kendall, Bella and Gigi aren’t supermodels. They are very good social media workers. Back to the reality, please.
At this moment the male models are superior to the girls, agencies, quality and quantity. The supermodels it’s ended, definitely. The future belongs to the male models?
I don’t no about models and fashion a lot. But in my mine ,I think CARA have chaming around her.
Same here
what happened to River Viiperi? No taste for Real Working Male Models? Seriously Zoolaander? What a freaking JOKE!
I was hoping for more Imaan Hammam, she’s an amazing model and she’s so gorgeous.
Disappointing and awful! Stop being slaves of media!
Are they kidding? The top male models must be marketed to gay men. The hottest international model I know is Paul Kelly! He may be gay, I have no clue but I know a lot of women who think he’s the hottest thing ever!
Mica Argañaraz debió ser la Modelo del año. No la nominaron por que no quieren que gane una modelo latina.
Mica Argañaraz fue la mejor modelo del 2015 superando en trabajos a todas. Kendall y Gigi no trabajaron tanto durante el 2015. Solo ganaron por ser famosas, no por sus trabajos en desfiles, portadas y editoriales.
girls and women love male models . and I think MCClain Driver and Sam Evans are the next male supermodels because they have the superlooks superpersonality,super professionalism . Sam is also forging out a film career and I think MCClain could be the next Tom Cruise. Bella in my opinion is more model, than Gigi. But Celebrity SELLS Fashion too. Beauty sells more than sex in my opinion. Zoolander Movies is a must for every male !model!
sorry typo. MCLain Driver; male model. He could become the next male super model ,
i have been dreaming since my childhood that one day i will be amodel star and i am still waiting my chance
that was perfect
yeah,she is an amazing girl