Vietnam's Next Top Model (Người mẫu Việt Nam, or VNTM) is a Vietnamese reality television show in which contestants compete for the title of "Vietnam's Next Top Model." Contestants are given the opportunity to begin a career in the modeling industry, and the winner receives a modeling contract, a cash prize and a feature article in a fashion magazine.
Background The competition follows a group of female contestants (including male contestants from season 4-7) at least 18 years old. They live together in a house for several months and take part in various challenges, such as posing for photographs. Many episodes feature contestants meeting well-known figures in the modeling industry. In each episode, one or more contestants are eliminated, although multiple eliminations or zero elimination occasionally occur by consensus of the panel of judges. The winner will be crowned "Vietnam's Next Top Model", receiving a modeling contract and other prizes.
Format
Requirements Contestants must be between 18 and 25 years of age, and had to be Vietnamese citizens or foreigners of Vietnamese origin. From season four women had to be at least 5'7" (170 cm) tall and men at least 5'9" (175 cm) tall in order to compete. The contestants must not be managed exclusively by companies, agencies, or products and have no criminal record. In season seven, height and age requirements are removed.
Judging The first cycle was overseen by two panels of judges. The first included model Nathan Lee, who was scheduled to host the season with international model Elizabeth Thủy Tiên and fashion designer Hoàng Ngân. They were replaced by Hà Anh, Huy Võ and Đức Hải immediately after they were cast.
During season two, the judging panel was renewed and increased with influential figures in the Vietnamese fashion industry. Six former judges (from two panels) were replaced by a new panel. They included makeup artist Nam Trung, fashion designer Đỗ Mạnh Cường and fashion photographer Phạm Hoài Nam. Former model Xuân Lan was the host and head judge, remaining the host of the show with the exception of season four when she was pregnant (Thanh Hằng hosted that season). After hosting season four, Thanh Hằng returned as head judge in season six. On June 4, 2017, former host of Project Runway Vietnam Trương Ngọc Ánh was announced to be the new host of the show, replacing Thanh Hằng from season eight
Asia's Next Top Model season-two judge Adam Williams has been a recurring guest judge since season four, and a permanent judge in season five. That season, Đỗ Mạnh Cường was replaced by Samuel Hoàng.
In Cycle 6, former host Phạm Thị Thanh Hằng, who hosted Cycle 4 (the first guys-and-girls season of the show), returned to fulfill her position as head judge of the panel. Samuel Hoàng reprised his role as a judge after Cycle 5 concluded. Designer Adrian Anh Tuấn was also introduced as a new judge.
In Cycle 7, host Phạm Thị Thanh Hằng and Samuel Hoàng reprised their roles in the judging panel. Fashion designer Lý Quí Khánh and fashion stylist & Editor-in-Chief of Đẹp Magazine (where the word "Đẹp" is translated from Vietnamese, means beautiful) Hà Đỗ were introduced as new judges.
In Cycle 8, the entire panel of judges was replaced. The jury consisted of model-actress Trương Ngọc Ánh, make-up artist Nam Trung, and model Võ Hoàng Yến. Ngọc Ánh acted as the show's presenter, while Nam Trung served as the show's creative director and Hoàng Yến served as model mentor, respectively.
JudgeCycle1(2010)2(2011)3(2012)4(2013)5(2014)6(2015)7(2016)8(2017)9(2025)Host Hà Anh colspan="1" colspan="8" Xuân Lan colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="4" Thanh Hằng colspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" Trương Ngọc Ánh colspan="7" colspan="1" colspan="8" Judging Panelists Đức Hải colspan="1" colspan="8" Huy Võ colspan="1" colspan="8" Nam Trung colspan="1" colspan="4" colspan="2" colspan="2" Đỗ Mạnh Cường colspan="1" colspan="3" colspan="4" colspan="1" Phạm Hoài Nam colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="7" Adam Williams colspan="3" colspan="2" colspan="7" Hương Color colspan="4" colspan="1" colspan="7" Samuel Hoàng colspan="4" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="7" Adrian Anh Tuấn colspan="5" colspan="1" colspan="3" Lý Quí Khánh colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="4" colspan="1" colspan="7" Hà Đỗ colspan="6" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" Võ Hoàng Yến colspan="7" colspan="1" colspan="1"
Cycles Cycle Premiere date WinnerRunner-up Other contestants in order of eliminationNumber of contestantsInternational Destinations 1Khiếu Thị Huyền TrangNguyễn Thị Tuyết LanLại Thanh Hương & Trần Lê Hoài Thương, Bùi Thị Thu Thùy, Nguyễn Thanh Hằng, Bùi Thị Hoàng Oanh, Nguyễn Diệp Anh, Hồ Mỹ Phương, Phạm Thị Hương, Nguyễn Giáng Hương, Đàm Thu Trang, Trần Thị Thu Hiền, Đỗ Thị Thanh Hoa, Nguyễn Thu Thủy15None2Hoàng Thị ThùyNguyễn Thị Trà MyLưu Khánh Linh, Kikki Lê, Huỳnh Thị Kim Tuyền, Dương Thị Dung, Phan Ngọc Phương Nghi & Nguyễn Thị Hoàng Oanh, Nguyễn Thùy Dương, Lê Thị Phương & Trần Thanh Thủy, Nguyễn Thị Tuyết, Nguyễn Thị Phương Anh, Nguyễn Thị Thùy Trang, Lê Thị Thúy15SingaporeBangkok3Mai Thị GiangKha Mỹ VânNguyễn Thi Châm, Nguyễn Thi Hằng, Lương Thị Kim Loan, Lê Thị Hằng & Cao Thi Hà, Lê Thanh Thảo, Đỗ Thu Hà, Vũ Thị Minh Nguyệt, Nguyễn Thị Ngân & Dương Thị Thanh & Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Thúy & Nguyễn Thị Nhã Trúc, Cao Thị Thiên Trang15New York City4 Mâu Thị Thanh ThủyVũ Tuấn ViệtNguyễn Quốc Minh Tòng & Lê Uyên Phương Thảo & Đỗ Thị Kim Ngân & Ngô Thị Quỳnh Mai, Tạ Thúc Bình & Phan Thị Thùy Linh, Phạm Thị Kim Thoa, Trần Mạnh Kiên, Nguyễn Trần Trung & Đinh Hà Thu, Nguyễn Thị Thanh, Trần Quang Đại, Dương Mạc Anh Quân & Nguyễn Thị Hằng, Lê Văn Kiên & Nguyễn Thị Chà Mi18SingaporeParis5 Nguyễn Thị Oanh&Tạ Quang Hùng Phạm Duy Anh&Tiêu Ngọc Linh&Cao Thị NgânNguyễn Văn Thắng & Hồ Văn Năm, Nguyễn Thị Thanh Tuyền, Lê Đức Anh, Lê Thị Kim Dung, Trần Yến Nhi & Phạm Công Toàn, Chế Nguyễn Quỳnh Châu & Lê Đăng Khánh, Phạm Tấn Khang, Đặng Văn Hội16BangkokRomeMilan6 Nguyễn Thị Hương LyVõ Thành An&Nguyễn Thị Hợp&Lương Thị Hồng Xuân Nguyễn Thành Quốc, Nguyễn Thị Kim Phương & Trần Hải Đăng, Hoàng Gia Anh Vũ, Hoàng Anh Tú, H'Hen Niê & Đào Thị Thu, Nguyễn Thị Hồng Vân, Đinh Đức Thành & K’ Brơi14SingaporeRome7Nguyễn Thị Ngọc ChâuNguyễn Huy Quang&La Thanh ThanhPhạm Gia Long & Nguyễn Thị Thuỳ Dung, Trương Bùi Hoài Nam & Nguyễn Duy Minh & Hà Thị Út Trang, Nguyễn Anh Thư, Hoàng Minh Tùng, Bùi Huy Dương & Nguyễn Thị Phương, Vũ Trần Kim Nhã, Trần Thị Thuỳ Trâm, Trịnh Thu Hường & Nguyễn Thiếu Lan, Nguyễn Minh Phong & Trần Thị Thùy Trang18Sydney8Lê Thị Kim DungNguyễn Thùy Dương&Nguyễn Thị Chà MiNguyễn Thị Phương Oanh, Lương Thị Hồng Xuân, Trần Thị Thuỳ Trâm, Nguyễn Hồng Anh, Nguyễn Thị Hoàng Oanh, Lại Thị Thanh Hương, Kikki Lê, Nguyễn Thị Hợp, Cao Thị Ngân & Cao Thị Thiên Trang13Seoul9Lại Mai HoaĐỗ Phùng Hương Giang&Vũ Mỹ Ngân&Lê Thị Bảo NgọcTrương Thị Huyền Thương, Phạm Hoài An & Trần Tâm Thanh, Ngô Thị Hằng & Đỗ Thu Uyên, Dương Thị Kim Thanh & Trần Thị Diệp Lục, Lê Ngọc Ái Băng (quit), Lê Mi Lan, Trương Thị Tuyết Mai & Lê Minh Trà My15Paris
Controversies
Season one The original panel of judges, including Nathan Lee, Elizabeth Thủy Tiên, and Hoàng Ngân, was fired because of conflicts among themselves and with the producers."Vietnam's Next Top Model 'thay máu' toàn bộ Ban giám khảo",bee.com.vn, by: Tâm Long, date: 2010-10-08."Chuyện như đùa ở cuộc thi người mẫu", Thanh Niên, by: Đỗ Tuấn & Nguyên Vân, date: 2010-10-13."Những vụ kiện 'hot' nhất làng giải trí Việt 2010", laodong.com.vn, by: Chí Anh, date: 2010-11-06."Thay BGK Vietnam's Next Top Model vì bất đồng với nhà sản xuất", Bưu điện Việt Nam via Zing, by: Quỳnh Anh, date: 2010-10-08. A new panel was introduced; the head judge position taken up by model Hà Anh, and others judges including designer Huy Võ and actor-model Đức Hải. Đức Hải was primarily known for appearing in made-for-television films, and Huy Võ was reportedly a student at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising."Thất vọng với Vietnam's Next Top Model", Người lao động, by: Thùy Trang, date: 2010-10-17.
Despite signing non-disclosure agreements, several contestants appeared on other TV shows before their elimination (suggesting they had been eliminated). The first-season finale was reportedly taken from the fourth-season finale of Germany's Next Topmodel,"Vietnam's Next Top Model lấy kịch bản của Germany's Next Top Model?", Dân Trí, by: NP, date: 2011-30-01. and the finale's "live" photo shoot was reportedly staged."Vietnam's Next Top Model: mới chỉ là 'next top'...", Đất Việt, by: Võ Hà, date: 2011-01-25.
One year since the show had concluded, the winner Khiếu Thị Huyền Trang decided to speak up demanding the prize from the VNTM Organizing Committee, as she still had not received any the prizes for the winner including: 1,000,000,000₫ from CA Models, contract with Wilhelmina Models in New York City, and the supplies of Revlon."Huyền Trang bất ngờ đòi giải thưởng Vietnam’s Next Top Model", Ngôi Sao, by: Phunutoday, date: 2012-03-17. The aforementioned 1,000,000,000₫ prize from CA Models was supposed to be a salary divided equally every month for two years, but the payments would cease if she ended the contract. However she did not receive any money from the work done each month with the agency, therefore she decided to end the contract in November 2011. Before that, in In August 2011, CA Models initiated her plan to go to New York City under the condition that she lost 5–7 kg. But the trip never happened due to the agency claiming the trip cost too much money and for many times thinking about going and then cancelling continuously until November 2011.
Khiếu Thị Huyền Trang was also supposed to get the 2-year supply of Revlon, but she never received it due to advertising for another cosmetics brand with an interview for a magazine. Concerning the reason why the organizers of Vietnam's Next Top Model have not yet given this award to Huyen Trang, makeup artist Minh Hoang of Revlon cosmetics frankly said: "The responsibility belongs to Ms. Quynh Trang (production director of Vietnam's Next Top Model - PV) - if you have taken money from people, then fulfill your commitment well before asking for more. Don't blame this on Huyen Trang or Revlon." Even the show's host Hà Anh has confirmed that the production had not yet awarded all the prizes to Huyen Trang."Hà Anh nói đúng chuyện Huyền Trang bị 'quỵt' giải thưởng", Tiên Phong, by: Duy Nam, date: 2012-03-02.
Season two Although head judge Xuân Lan, Nam Trung, Phạm Hoài Nam and Đỗ Mạnh Cường were chosen for their Vietnamese fashion-industry expertise, their lack of international experience was criticized."What's new for Vietnam's Next Top Model", English Edition of Thanh Nien Online, by: Kim, date: 2011-08-19. In response to questions from VTC News about qualifications for a top model, Elite Vietnam director Thúy Nga said that most finalists' body shapes were rough and disproportionate. She said, "Being a top model in three months is unbelievable" and considered the competition as primarily entertainment."Người mẫu có... xấu như Vietnam’s Next Top Model?", VTC News, by: Chu Ngũ Hương, date: 2011-11-17.