BUCKLE UP: Phone-flinger Naomi Campbell lasts most of the first episode in good humor before blowing up. (
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First, we had “The Voice.” And now, “The Face.”
What next? “The Ear” for musicians, “The Nose” for perfumers?
Tonight, Oxygen — the women’s network that brought us that horrible hot mess “The Bad Girls Club” — introduces a new series featuring the baddest bad girl on the planet, Naomi Campbell.
“The Face” is a modelling competition series that differs from “America’s Next Top Model” in a few ways, while ripping it off shamelessly in others.
For starters, it’s hosted by former “ANTM” judge Nigel Barker.
Instead of one top model reigning supreme, there are three here acting as coaches, including Campbell (who will probably end up modeling longer than Carmen Dell’Orefice). The others are Coco Rocha and Karolina Kurkova.
In place of newbies and wannabes, many of the competitors are working models who are competing to become the face of Ulta, a cosmetics store.
I had to look that one up because, on the show, they definitely want to make you think it’s a new high-end beauty company.
Anyway, of the 24 competitors, some are working models and pageant winners. Only one girl is a newbie.
Interestingly, they all look like real models, not just pretty girls who — for all sorts of reasons — wouldn’t have a chance in hell of ever working as models in real life.
In the real world of fashion and beauty, gorgeousness gets you through the door, but little else.
It’s the “girls” (and they are always called “girls” in the biz) with that certain something you can’t define that become the supermodels.
Tonight, the 24 candidates — one is a former Miss Universe China, and one is a seemingly certifiably crazy woman from Philly — almost all have that whatever-it-is to make it. They are separated into three teams, each with a coach.
Think a pick-up softball game, with nothing but genetic-lottery winners on the field.
In the first competition, Campbell pits girls from opposing teams against each other to wear the same Topshop outfits — but each must accessorize them individually. (It’s kind of fascinating to see what a necklace and shoes can do to make the same clothes look completely different.)
Next, there’s a photo shoot in which all three teams must compete for a spread in W magazine.
They must figure out how to build a story — fashion-wise — at the Brooklyn Navy Yards, and there’s just a giant pile of rope with which to pose.
Campbell, Kurkova and Rocha — all insanely competitive with each other — stage the shoot with the models’ input, and it’s flat-out fun to watch legendary photographer Patrick Demarchelier in action.
Campbell spends most of the show behaving, but then has an outburst when things don’t go her way.
It’s too early to tell if it’s real diva behavior or real fake reality TV behavior. Or both.
Big names, big egos and big beauties equal big ratings.