“My cards were dealt differently,” Isis, a 22-year-old former receptionist, tells Us Weekly exclusively in its new issue, on newsstands now.

Hailing from Prince George’s County, Maryland, Isis identifies herself as “a woman born physically male.”

Will she be a role model? “I like to help people, but I’m here to follow my dreams,” she tells Us.

The inclusion of Isis is being hailed by GLAAD president Neil Giuliano as “an unprecedented opportunity for a community that is underrepresented on television.

“We applaud Tyra Banks and The CW for making this historic visibility of transgender people possible,” Giuliano said.

My opinion- Let the drama begin…this poor girl/boy is going to be talked about and made fun of by the other female contestants, especially is she is good. Let’s hope she’s got the balls to stand up for herself!

One Brazilian paper blasted her back fat and cellulite, as did other outlets.

The impetus for the stories were two still photos taken at the Cia Maritima fashion show at the end of last week. It was 2006 when Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston, 21, died of anorexia

Kurkova opened and closed the swimwear show, and did a third walk in the middle. That third walk can be seen 7:35 into the below video, and is the look from which the stills were taken.

My opinion: I think it’s sad that the media , especially in Brazil is giving her such a hard time. It’s hard enough being fat in real life but in the fashion world it’s an absolute death sentence to your career and status as a hottie.

But in all fairness, she is too big (in the current photos) to be a Victoria’s Sceret model. Before you rip my head off, understand that in normal everday life Karolina Kurkova ’s current body would be considered slim, sexy, and only in need of slight toning, but in the fashion industry she is a cow (at this size currently) even though it looks like she’s a mere 10-12 pounds heavier than in her other runway ready body pics.

This model is paid HUGE to look perfect according to the industry’s strict standards, that’s why no matter how pretty you are and how great your husband tells you your body looks, there’s a 99.9% chance it’s still not good enough to be runway fashion model. Most models are naturally skinny, this is another advantage of youth because as many models age their metabolism slows down like the rest of us, and some models can no longer stay stick thin.This is why when the industry picks it’s models, it has to be the best of the best. Weight gain and aging are the 2 major no-no’s in high fashion. It’s depressing to hear, but it’s reality. If I was spending millions on a lingerie runway show and one of my models show up with back fat and cellulite I would seriously lose it.

This industry is selling you a fantasy.,and unless your a stunning plus size model like ANTM winner Whitney, you have to BE the product 24/7 until your contract is up. I was very quick to come to her defense until I saw the photos, and when I saw them, I gasped. Just look at the before photos of her then look at the 3 side by side after shots and tell me if YOU wouldn’t be pissed if one of your highest paid models showed up to walk the runway will a jiggly cellulite ass and fat back layers. If your honest you know that would be completely unacceptable.

I do give Karolina serious credit for being so brave to do that walk 3 times during the show, and still maintain a strong prescence on the runway. I can only imagine the snickering and hurtful comments hair stylists, makeup artistst, and others must have been saying within earshot of her. I have worked in this industry and there is zero sympathy or understanding for these things. I hope she drops a few pounds and come back looking better than ever and shut everyone’s mouth up..including mine.

NEW YORK (AP) - A European Vogue cover model fell to her death from her Manhattan apartment building Saturday in an apparent suicide, published reports said.

Ruslana Korshunova, 20, died around 2:30 p.m. in a fall from a building on Water Street, in Manhattan’s Financial District, The New York Post, the Daily News and Newsday reported. The newspapers cited unnamed officials and police.

Police said the fall was under investigation. Korushnova’s New York agency and a spokeswoman for medical examiners did not immediately return telephone messages.

Originally from the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, the almond-eyed, flowing-haired Korshunova appeared in advertisements and on runways for such designers as Marc Jacobs, Nina Ricci and DKNY. British Vogue hailed her as “a face to be excited about” in 2005.

Her break came when modeling booker Debbie Jones noticed her while perusing an in-flight magazine article about Korushnova’s hometown of Almaty, according to the Vogue report.

“She looked like something out of a fairytale!” Jones told the magazine. “We had to find her and we searched high and low until we did!”

Story by By CATHY HORYN The NY Times

RACIAL prejudice in the fashion industry has long persisted because of tokenism and lookism. “We already have our black girl,” says a designer to a fashion-show casting agent, declining to see others. Or: “She doesn’t have the right look.” Laziness, paranoia and pedantry may also have something to do with the failure to hire black models for shows and magazine features in any meaningful number, but, hey, that’s just a guess. A decade ago the thing to deplore was the stereotyping of black models by dressing them in African-inspired clothes (or the Asian girls in kimonos). This at least gave work to minority models, but it also encouraged a Western view of African culture of the many-bangles-many-beads variety.

O.K., so fashion ain’t deep. It looks into a mirror and sees … itself. The irony in fashion is that it loves change but it can’t actually change anything. It can only reflect a change in the air. But what changes fashion? What would finally move American designers to include more black models on their runways? That 30 percent of the country is nonwhite? That black women spend $20 billion a year on clothes? That an African-American is the presumptive presidential nominee of the Democratic Party?

The answer is the individual eye.

In fashion, one of the most influential eyes belongs to the photographer Steven Meisel. His pictures have caught an America basking in the earnest, self-reflected glow of celebrity and money. He has taken innumerable risks, especially with “Sex,” the 1992 volume he did with Madonna, that have paid off with a career that allows him to do whatever he wants.

And he has almost lovingly photographed some of the world’s beautiful women, tapping into their psyches, connecting with them on a human level, while transforming them into fashion deities.

As the model Veronica Webb, who first worked with Mr. Meisel 20 years ago, said: “Steven knows every single tic, every talent that every girl has. He just pulls it out of them.”

For the July issue of Italian Vogue, Mr. Meisel has photographed only black models. In a reverse of the general pattern of fashion magazines, all the faces are black, and all the feature topics are related to black women in the arts and entertainment. Mr. Meisel was given roughly 100 pages for his pictures. The issue will be on European newsstands next Thursday and in the United States soon after.

Under its editor, Franca Sozzani, Italian Vogue has gained a reputation for being more about art and ideas than commerce. Ms. Sozzani also doesn’t mind controversy.

She said that, as an Italian, she has been intrigued by the American presidential race and Mr. Obama, which was one source of inspiration when she and Mr. Meisel began discussing, in February, the idea of an all-black issue. Also, she was aware of the lack of diversity on the runways in recent years and the debate it fueled last fall in New York, where Bethann Hardison, a former model who ran a successful agency, held two panel discussions on the topic.

Ms. Sozzani said the issue was not a response to criticism that she, too, has under-represented blacks or portrayed them as stereotypes.

“Mine is not a magazine that can be accused of not using black girls,” said Ms. Sozzani, noting that Naomi Campbell has had several covers, and that Liya Kebede and Alek Wek have also had covers.

Having worked at one time with nearly all the models he chose for the black issue — Iman, Ms. Campbell, Tyra Banks, Jourdan Dunn, Ms. Kebede, Ms. Wek, Pat Cleveland, Karen Alexander — Mr. Meisel had his own feelings. “I thought, it’s ridiculous, this discrimination,” said Mr. Meisel, speaking by phone from his home in Los Angeles. “It’s so crazy to live in such a narrow, narrow place. Age, weight, sexuality, race — every kind of prejudice.”

He began casting in March. “I love the history of fashion, obviously, and I love old, and I tried to get as many of the older girls as I could,” he said. Over Ms. Sozzani’s initial objections, he also hired Toccara Jones, a full-figure model, who became known from “America’s Next Top Model.” “I wanted to say something about weight, and I’m never allowed to do that,” he said. “I met Toccara and thought, she’s beautiful. What’s the deal with her? She’s great and she’s sexy.”

If these pictures have a heightened sense of glamour, it probably has something to do with the atmosphere of a Meisel shoot. According to Ms. Webb, “it’s the darkest studio, like a studio at MGM.”

There are fans and reflectors; many assistants. An area is marked “Hair” and another “Makeup.” (Pat McGrath did all the makeup for the issue, and Guido Palau did the hair.) A mirror is placed behind Mr. Meisel, so the model can see herself.

“It’s a dark world,” Ms. Webb said, “and you’re in the spotlight.”

The four pictures that Ms. Campbell was supposed to make turned into 20. She also appears on the fold-out cover, along with Ms. Kebede, Sessilee Lopez and Ms. Dunn. “Franca doesn’t realize what she’s done for people of color,” Ms. Campbell said the other day. “It reminds me of Yves using all the black models.” She was referring to Yves Saint Laurent, who, like Gianni Versace and a handful of other designers, routinely cast minorities.

Read part 2 of the story >>

(Nikki Taylor, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Tyra Banks, Stephanie Seymour, Claudia Shiffer, Sybil Buck , Beverly Peele, Laetitia Casta, Christy Brinkley,  Heidi Klum, etc..).

So I decided to share  a current list of today’s top fashion models for your viewing pleasure.  Let’s show these newschool divas some love!!

Of course I cannot list them all but these are the beauties that have been catching the eye of designers, and magazines everywhere and it’s exciting to see them flourish in this cut throat industry. Personally I think this new crop of divas are the best of the bunch .

	First Name: Zuzana Last Name: Gregorova Nationality: Slovakian Ethnicity: Slovakian Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Blue Date of Birth: Place of Birth: Slovakia Height: 5′9″ ; 175cm Measurements: (US) 32-24-34 ; (EU) 81-61-86.5 Dress Size: (US) 4 ; (EU) 34 Shoe Size: (US) 8 ; (EU) 39
	Gemma Ward (born November 3, 1987 in Perth, Australia) She was discovered in 2002 when she was in the Australian television show Search for a Supermodel, which she was persuaded to enter. She was signed by Vivien’s Model Management based in Australia and IMG in New York.Ward was the youngest model chosen to be in a Vogue shoot of nine “It Girls” in the modeling world. Ward has been on campaigns from Prada to Yves Saint Laurent and been in shows for designers such as Versace and Gucci. She also has been on magazine covers such as Vogue and W. Most recently, she was selected as the first model to appear on the cover of TeenVogue magazine.
	Name: Ajuma Nasanyana Nationality: Kenyan Birthday: January 14, 1984 Born in: Lodwar, Turkana, Kenya Lives now: New York, NY Agencies: Ford Known for: My body, my legs Friends with: Honorine Uwera, Kinée Diouf
	First Name: Janeta Last Name: Samp Nationality: Polish Ethnicity: Polish Hair Color: Blonde Eye Color: Blue / green Date of Birth: 1986 Place of Birth: Gdynia, Poland Height: 5′11″ ; 180.5cm Measurements: (US) 32-24-35 ; (EU) 81-61-89 Dress Size: (US) 6 ; (EU) 36 Shoe Size: (US) 9 ; (EU) 41
	First Name: Hilary Last Name: Rhoda Nationality: American Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Blue Date of Birth: April 6 1987 Place of Birth: Chevy Chase, Maryland, USA Height: 5′11″ ; 180cm Measurements: (US) 34-24-34 ; (EU) 86.5-61-86.5 Dress Size: (US) 4 ; (EU) 34 Shoe Size: (US) 8 ; (EU) 40 Agencies: IMG Models - New YorkAdvertisements: Abercrombie & Fitch, Balenciaga, Belstaff, Bergdorf Goodman, Blanco, Bloomingdale’s, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, DSquared2, Donna Karan, Emanuel Ungaro, Estee Lauder, Etro, Givenchy, Gucci, Hollister, Just Cavalli, Lancome, Louis Vuitton, Neiman Marcus, Pedro del Hierro, Peek & Cloppenburg, Pucci, Ralph Lauren Blue label, St. John, Valentino, Zara
	First Name: Joan Last Name: Smalls Nationality: American Ethnicity: African-American Hair Color: Dark brown Eye Color: Brown Height: 5′10.5″ ; 179cm Measurements: (US) 33-24-34 ; (EU) 84-61-86.5 Dress Size: (US) 4 ; (EU) 34 Shoe Size: (US) 9 ; (EU) 41
	Name: CoCo Rocha Date of birth September 10, 1988 (1988-09-10) (age 19) Place of birth Toronto, Ontario, Canada Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Hair color brown Eye color blue Measurements 32-24-34 (US) Dress size 4 (US) Shoe size 7 (US)
	First Name: Querelle Last Name: Jansen Nationality: Dutch Ethnicity: Hair Color: Blonde Eye Color: Green Date of Birth: October 14, 1985 Place of Birth: The Netherlands Height: 5′11″ ; 180cm Measurements: (US) 34-24.5-35 ; (EU) 86-62-89 Dress Size: (US) 6 ; (EU) 36 Shoe Size: (US) 8 ; (EU) 39
	Name: Charlotte di Calypso Nationality: French Birthday: 1990 Born in: Lille, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France Lives now: Paris, France Agencies: Elite Known for: My lips Friends with: Agnete Hegelund, Darla Baker, Leah de Wavrin, Morgane Dubled
	Nationality: Chinese Birthday: September 15, 1982 Born in: Shanghai, China Agencies: IMG Known for: My pout Status: Established Friends with: Emma Pei, Han Jin, Mackenzie Hamilton Interests: Chess

Brady Green, according to a criminal complaint, has followed Banks from coast to coast since January, sent her letters and flowers, and tried to telephone her. Last week he was issued a court order requiring him to leave her alone.

Green, of Dublin, Ga., was arrested when he showed up several times March 18 at the Manhattan building where “The Tyra Banks Show” is taped and asked to speak to her, a misdemeanor complaint filed in Criminal Court says.

Banks also hosts the CW reality show “America’s Next Top Model.”

The complaint says building custodian Edward Troiano told police Green also had appeared at Banks’ Los Angeles studio “on multiple occasions” and asked to speak to her. He said Green had sent her letters and flowers there and had tried to reach her there by telephone at least five times, the complaint says.

Banks, 34, told police that Green’s actions had caused her to fear that she was in danger.

Police charged Green, 37, with stalking, criminal trespass and harassment. After his arraignment last Wednesday on the charges, Criminal Court Judge Anthony Ferrara released him without bail and ordered him to return to court May 13.

A telephone call to Green’s attorney wasn’t immediately returned Monday.

The New York Post said the Chelsea studio staffers were worried about Green returning. The paper said they were handing out photos of Green on Friday with a warning to stay away from him.

Prosecutors said they did not have an address for Green, who likely could face up to a year in jail if convicted.

___

On the Net:

“The Tyra Banks Show”:

http://tyrashow.warnerbros.com/

The CW:

http://cwtv.com/shows

An autopsy showed no signs of foul play, pointing to the possibility that the 47-year-old may have fallen accidentally into the river, they said.

She had been missing since January and was last seen returning home from a party. She lived in a houseboat near Paris’ Alexandre III bridge, and her handbag was later found on the boat.

The Guinean-born model told The Associated Press in 1994 that she ran away to Europe at 17 aiming to be a model. Her big break came when Jules-Francois Crahay, then the designer at Lanvin, spotted her in a line-up. The label hired her as a fitting model. Her first catwalk modeling was for Thierry Mugler at the start of the 1980s.

After quitting the runway, she turned to speaking out actively against female circumcision, describing her own experience at age 9 in a book, “Katoucha, In My Flesh,” which was published last year.

“I will never get the incomparable pain out of my head,” she wrote in the book, which she dedicated to her three children. In the book, she also detailed wild nights of partying, alcohol and drugs.

Vanity Fair’s fashion and style director, Michael Roberts, said Katoucha was “one those girls who used her fame to spotlight the misfortunes of others.”

“She always seemed so gracious and very lovely,” he said. “She was sunny and she was bright, and I liked her a lot.”

Katoucha set up her own label in 1994 after years of modeling for the likes of Christian Lacroix and Saint Laurent. Singers Cher and France’s Johnny Hallyday were among the stars who turned out for her show.

“I don’t pretend to be like Lacroix, Saint Laurent or the others,” she said at the time. “But I was certainly in a great school by wearing their clothes and going to the fittings. I learned several basic lessons, including: Don’t cut the fabric until you’ve got the ‘toile,’ or heavy linen prototype, just right.”

Katoucha was the daughter of Djibril Tamsir Niane, an archaeologist and writer. She said that her father was initially disappointed that she didn’t become “a professional intellectual, with a university degree,” but later reconciled to her other successes.

In the months before her death, Katoucha took on her first film role, playing a beautiful and rebellious woman not unlike herself, said Leandre-Alain Baker, director of “Ramata.” Filming is complete but a release date has not yet been set.

“She’s marvelous in the role,” Baker said.

He also said he sensed Katoucha could never entirely free herself from painful childhood experiences — a struggle sometimes apparent in her emotional shifts.

“She could go right from laughter to anger,” Baker said. “But she always came back … and I attribute that to her past, what she experienced and lived through.”

___

Associated Press writers Joelle Diderich, Jean-Pierre Verges and Devorah Lauter in Paris contributed to this report

The competition goes back to where it all started, New York City, for the tenth cycle of The CW’s hit series AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL, as 14 finalists from across the country fight to make their dreams of becoming a top model into reality. Supermodel Paulina Porizkova joins the panel of judges when the season premiere of AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL hits The CW on Wednesday, February 20 (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET).

I’m so happy one of my favorite shows is back! America’s Next Top Model has slowly grown on me. Like most I was pretty skeptical of the show and the realness of the actual prize and title, “America’s Next Top Model”, since no model has ever acheived any serious status in the modeling industry. But the show is so much fun, there’s good, bad, and ugly characters that makes you want to jump through the tv and give a verbal beat down to some of these silly model wannabes.

 If you stick with the show you can see how the girls either truly learn from the experience or allows their ignorance and bad attitude to take over and backfire in their face. Tyra, bless her heart, tries hard to show many of these models the enlightened way to handle and view every challenge but like usual most of the girls do exactly the opposite of whats expected and they get sent packing. So far one of my favorite quotes from the new season preview clips is when one (black) model tells the other, “You are by far one of the meanest African people I ever met.” , anyway, when I saw that I laughed out loud. If your from NYC that would make you laugh  because in general Africans normally are pretty nice people, so it’s rare to encounter one who is a major bitch. Every now and then there is someone who your just positive isn’t going to make it far and they totally prove you wrong, for example, Natasha from cycle 8, made it all the way to runner up, I was sure her stupidity would get the best of her, but she learned quickly and proved to everyone she wasn’t as dumb as we thought. Also Saliesha winning cycle 9 was a true shock to me. I was more happy for her because she was such a sweetheart, and she gave it 100%, but I really didn’t think she had top model potential, until I saw these photos recently..

She actually looks like Lisa Bonet in the pics. Kinda like Lisa Bonet 2.0, A true model is someone who can morph into whatever the clients needs her too, and that is something Saleisha never had a problem doing and that’s why she won. Yes, she may not look like a runway model but with some more training, she will have the goods to sell high fashion products.

Here’s the basic rundown on the show and the models . The show seems to be pushing this “New Attitude”, “All about attitude” attitude since their now back in New York City, (hence all the attitude overkill):

AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL
CYCLE 10 PARTICIPANTS:

Aimee
Age: 18
Occupation: Hostess
Hometown: Spanaway, Washington

Allison
Age: 19
Occupation: Hostess
Hometown: Waunakee, Wisconsin

Amy (a.k.a. “Amis”)
Age: 20
Occupation: Waitress
Hometown: Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Anya
Age: 19
Occupation: Retail Sales
Hometown: Honolulu, Hawaii
Atalya
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Hometown: Brooklyn, New York

Claire
Age: 24
Occupation: Production Coordinator
Hometown: New York, New York

Dominique
Age: 23
Occupation: Receptionist
Hometown: Columbus, Ohio

Fatima
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts

Katarzyna
Age: 22
Occupation: Finance
Hometown: Roslyn, New York

Kimberly
Age: 20
Occupation: Customer Service
Hometown: Worcester, Massachusetts

Lauren
Age: 22
Occupation: Artist
Hometown: Brooklyn, New York

Marvita
Age: 23
Occupation: Retail Sales
Hometown: San Francisco, California

Stacy Ann
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Hometown: Miami, Florida

Whitney
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Hometown: Atlantic Beach, Florida

During this cycle, the 14 participants live together and ferociously vie for the grand prize, competing in a highly accelerated modeling boot camp. The participants’ abilities are tested each week as they strive to master the runway and fashion photo shoots, perfect publicity skills and learn the business aspects of becoming a supermodel, all under 24-hour-a-day surveillance of the AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL cameras. Throughout the series, supermodel Tyra Banks, art director of photo shoots Jay Manuel, and runway guru J. Alexander mentor the participants.

Banks leads the panel of AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL judges, comprised of leading fashion industry experts. Joining the panel this cycle is supermodel Paulina Porizkova, along with returning judges photographer Nigel Barker and runway expert J. Alexander, who closely evaluate the progress of the models to narrow the field each week. In addition, special guest judges appear to critique the participants within his or her area of expertise.

The winner of The CW’s AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL will be managed by Elite Model Management. She also receives a $100,000 contract with cosmetics giant CoverGirl. Finally, the winner will appear on the cover and six-page fashion spread in Seventeen magazine.

AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL is produced by 10 by 10 Entertainment, in association with Bankable Productions. Tyra Banks is the creator and executive producer along with Ken Mok (“Making the Band”) and Daniel Soiseth (“Hell’s Kitchen”).

The designer Alexander Wang asked her to be his in-house stylist last season, and was so pleased with the results he asked her back. We sent Derek Blasberg to catch up with Erin as she prepped for Wang’s fall show and finished a day of errands.
“You’ve gotta feel this stuff,” Erin Wasson says as she caresses the exotic skins and leathers strewn about Alex Wang’s lower Fifth Avenue studio. “It’s so yummy.” This morning isn’t all fur appreciation, however; after a brief directional meeting, Wasson leaves Wang’s studio to find chains that she will link together for the Fall show.

Asked what her best skill is, Alex responds, “Just being herself is her best talent. She knows what looks good.”…..