Australia's Next Top Model season 7

The seventh cycle of Australia's Next Top Model began airing on 8 August 2011 on Fox8.

The prizes for this cycle included a modelling contract with Chic Model Management, ending the relationship with Priscilla's Model Management, a A$20,000 cash prize thanks to TRESemmé, a brand new Ford Fiesta, an overseas trip to New York City to meet with NEXT Model Management, and an editorial spread and the cover of Harper's Bazaar Australia.

The winner of the competition was 17-year-old Montana Cox from Melbourne, Victoria. This was the last series of Australia's Next Top Model hosted by Sarah Murdoch, after she left the show some months following the cycle's finale.

Series summary

Twenty semi-finalists were ultimately chosen out of 100 applicants from across Australia, who were selected for a casting in the first week of the competition. Sixteen contestants remained after the second episode, and stayed at their designated house in Sydney during the production between May, and August 2011. Beginning this cycle, the there was also a shift in the series' tone, with less focus being placed on quarrels among the contestants.

Requirements

All contestants had to be aged 16 or over in order to apply for the show. Those auditioning had to be at least 172 centimetres (68 in) tall. To qualify, all applicants had to be an Australian citizen currently living in Australia. Additional requirements stated that a contestant could not have had previous experience as a model in a national campaign within the last five years, and if a contestant was represented by an agent or a manager, she had to terminate that representation prior to the competition.

Auditions

Auditions were held on 24 January in Darwin, 27 January in Melbourne, 28 January in Adelaide, on 30 January in Perth, on 3 and 5 February in Sydney and on 12 February 2011 in Brisbane (delayed from 22 January due to the floods that devastated that city).

Cast

Contestants

(ages stated are at start of contest)

Contestant	Age	Height	Hometown	Finish	Place
Cassy Phillips-Sainsbury	17	174 cm (5 ft 8+1⁄2 in)	Bonnyrigg	Episode 3	16
Tayah Lee-Traub	18	177 cm (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)	Perth	Episode 4	15
Annaliese McCann	16	177 cm (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)	Shepparton	Episode 5	14–13
Alissandra Moone	18	175 cm (5 ft 9 in)	Perth
Neo Yakuac	18	174 cm (5 ft 8+1⁄2 in)	Brisbane	Episode 6	12–11
Caroline Austin	19	178 cm (5 ft 10 in)	Brisbane
Yolanda Hodgson	22	175 cm (5 ft 9 in)	Sydney	Episode 7	10
Jess Bush	19	175 cm (5 ft 9 in)	Brisbane	Episode 8	9–8
Amelia Coutts	18	176 cm (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)	Sydney
Madeline Huett	22	172 cm (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)	Launceston	Episode 9	7
Izzy Vesey	21	182 cm (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)	Gold Coast	Episode 10	6–5
Hazel O'Connell	16	177 cm (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)	Bathurst
Rachel Riddell	18	183 cm (6 ft 0 in)	Melbourne	Episode 11	4
Simone Holtznagel	17	175 cm (5 ft 9 in)	Wollongong	Episode 13	3
Liz Braithwaite	17	182 cm (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)	Brisbane		2
Montana Cox	17	179 cm (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in)	Melbourne		1

Judges

• Sarah Murdoch (host)
• Alex Perry
• Charlotte Dawson

Other cast members

• Josh Flinn – style director, model mentor

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
62	1	"100 Model Bootcamp"	8 August 2011 (2011-08-08)
Following an exhaustive nationwide search, 100 semi-finalists were selected for a round of bootcamp divided into a period of three days. After group interviews with the judges, a natural photo shoot, and a runway show for Alex Perry, it was revealed that the 20 semi-finalists that remained on day three would be flying to Paris for a final series of tasks that would determine who would move into the top model house.
63	2	"Paris"	15 August 2011 (2011-08-15)
The remaining models were flown to Paris and converged at the top of the Eiffel Tower, where it was revealed that they would be split into groups of five for a styling challenge at Gap, H&M, Le Dressing De Brigitte and Come on Eileen Vintage. The winners of the challenge were given the opportunity to meet supermodel Natalia Vodianova. The contestants later arrived at the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte for a baroque couture photo shoot wearing expensive designer labels from around the world. Back in Australia, the judges chose the 16 finalists. Special guest: Natalia Vodianova Featured photographer: Jez Smith
64	3	"Splash"	22 August 2011 (2011-08-22)
The 16 finalists moved into their new beachfront home, and headed to Nielsen Park for a runway lesson on the beach. They were later taken to a luxurious house in Coogee, where they had to walk in a bubble runway show over a pool. The first official photo shoot took place at the model house, and the models were photographed wearing coloful swimwear as they were splashed with buckets of water. Special guests: Adam Williams, Magdalena Velevska Featured photographer: Harold David
65	4	"Coffins"	29 August 2011 (2011-08-29)
The models took part in a yoga lesson, and later had a challenge in the storefront window of David Jones where they had to come up with five different poses and hold each pose for three minutes. The winner of the challenge received a $500 gift card to shop at David Jones. The contestants later had to pose inside of a coffin in a shoot inspired by Lady Gaga's performance at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend festival. Special guests: Charlotte Dodson, Samantha Harris, Kelly Hume Featured photographer: Jason Capobianco
66	5	"Sunday Mag"	5 September 2011 (2011-09-05)
The remaining contestants arrived at a gymnasium for a Trapeze session, and received makeovers. They later had a simplistic pastel photo shoot, and it was revealed that the models with the best photos would have their shots printed in an editorial for Sunday Magazine. Special guests: Joh Bailey, Inez Garcia Featured photographer: Holly Blake
67	6	"Blackmores"	12 September 2011 (2011-09-12)
The models arrived at Bondi Beach for a fitness training session, and were later taken to Lux Studios to shoot mock advertisements in which they had to sell a variety of random objects. The two winning teams received the opportunity to attend a relaunch of the Cartier boutique. The photo shoot took place at the historic grounds of Strickland House, where the models had to pose in an advertising campaign for Blackmores' line of vitamin supplements. A shocking elimination at panel saw two models eliminated from the competition. Special guests: Luke Hines, Rob Belgiovane, Claudia Navone Featured photographer: Gabrielle Revere
68	7	"Kangaroo Island"	19 September 2011 (2011-09-19)
The final 10 prepared for a flight to Kangaroo Island, and found out at Sydney Airport that all the flights to Adelaide had been cancelled due to Chilean volcanic ash. Instead, they were taken to the Sydney Dance Company, and learned about creating shapes inspired by nature. The ash cloud cleared the following day, and after arriving to Kangaroo Island, the models were split into groups for a posing challenge. They later had a tribal photo shoot at the Remarkable Rocks in Flinders Chase National Park. Special guests: Tim Bishop Featured photographer: Nick Leary
69	8	"Great Gatsby"	26 September 2011 (2011-09-26)
The models met Charlotte Dawson at the National Institute of Dramatic Art for an acting lesson, before taking part in an audition challenge for Telstra. They later had to pose in a 1920s vintage photo shoot inspired by The Great Gatsby with actor Lincoln Lewis. Special guests: Anna Houston, Abe Forsythe, Lincoln Lewis Featured photographer: Jordan Graham
70	9	"Paintbox"	3 October 2011 (2011-10-03)
Sarah Murdoch visited the models with her friend Crystal Barter to talk about breast bancer, and surprised the girls with a visit from their loved ones. After a trip to the landfill, they arrived at the Strand Arcade for a fashion show in which they had to wear garments made of sustainable garbage for an exhibition at the Australian Museum. The winner of the challenge was given $500 to donate to a charity of her choosing. The contestants were later photographed semi-nude and covered in pink paint with male models to promote breast cancer awareness. Special guests: Crystal Barter, Adam Williams Featured photographer: Simon Upton
71	10	"Joy Luxe"	10 October 2011 (2011-10-10)
The models went to Boxing Works for a lesson on mixed martial arts, and later auditioned for a role in Short Stack's new music video "Bang Bang Sexy". For the shoot, they were photographed at the Victoria Room wearing couture lingerie. The contestants received a shock at panel, when a double elimination caught them by surprise. Special guests: Short Stack, Alexandra Agoston, Dan Rotinger Featured photographer: Simon Lekias
72	11	"Epic"	17 October 2011 (2011-10-17)
Charlotte Dawson briefed the models on the importance and pitfalls of social media, and introduced them to Lara Bingle for a lesson on dealing with the limelight. They were then flown to Cockatoo Island for their photo shoot, in which they had to pose as movie starlets on a crane wearing couture gowns. After a night of camping out on the island, it was revealed that the models would be attending go-sees for several high profile clients in Sydney. Special guests: Lara Bingle, Megan Gale, Camilla Freeman, Fernando Frisoni, Camilla Franks, Ursula Hufnagl Featured photographer: Hugh Stewart
73	12	"Dubai"	24 October 2011 (2011-10-24)
Sarah Murdoch surprised the final three contestants by announcing that they would be heading overseas to Dubai for a final series of tests. After a trip around the city's markets, they arrived to Al Bastakiya for a scorching photo shoot session in which they had to wear winter clothing. They later swam with dolphins at their hotel, and ended their week with an editorial photo shoot wearing fabric in the desert. Back in Australia, the judges went over the results of the final pictures and discussed each model's potential. Featured photographer: Georges Antoni
74	13	"Finale"	25 October 2011 (2011-10-25)
After a brief recap of the series, and several red carpet entrances, the show reunited the final sixteen in an opening runway show. Afterwards, footage from the final shoot for Harper's Bazaar was shown. The final covers were then revealed, and Simone was eliminated from the competition. Following a performance from Short Stack and a retrospective look back at the finalists' journey on the show, Montana was revealed to be the seventh winner of Australia's Next Top Model. Special guests: Edwina McCann, Claudia Navone, Short Stack Featured photographer: Pierre Toussaint

Results table

Order	Episodes
	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	13
1	Rachel	Yolanda	Liz	Montana	Montana	Rachel	Simone	Hazel	Montana	Montana	Montana	Montana
2	Izzy	Montana	Yolanda	Madeline	Liz	Liz	Izzy	Montana	Liz	Liz	Liz	Liz
3	Jess	Neo	Jess	Rachel	Simone	Izzy	Rachel	Liz	Simone	Simone	Simone
4	Madeline	Izzy	Rachel	Hazel	Hazel	Hazel	Hazel	Simone	Rachel	Rachel
5	Caroline	Liz	Amelia	Simone	Jess	Montana	Montana	Rachel	Hazel Izzy
6	Yolanda	Alissandra	Simone	Amelia	Madeline	Madeline	Madeline	Izzy
7	Amelia	Madeline	Montana	Caroline	Rachel	Simone	Liz	Madeline
8	Neo	Jess	Neo	Jess	Amelia	Amelia	Amelia Jess
9	Liz	Amelia	Madeline	Yolanda	Yolanda	Jess
10	Montana	Tayah	Hazel	Izzy	Izzy	Yolanda
11	Hazel	Simone	Annaliese	Liz	Caroline Neo
12	Alissandra	Annaliese	Caroline	Neo
13	Tayah	Caroline	Izzy	Alissandra Annaliese
14	Annaliese	Rachel	Alissandra
15	Cassy	Hazel	Tayah
16	Simone	Cassy

  The contestant was eliminated

  The contestant won the competition

Controversy

There was some controversy surrounding the show following comments made by Alex Perry regarding the body of one of its contestants. 18 year-old Alissandra Moone from Perth was criticised by Perry, who compared her body to "overstuffed luggage" after seeing one of her photos in the fourth episode of the series. Fans of the show immediately took to social media after the episode aired to express their outrage, to which Perry replied that he had been referring to Moone's posing skills in a confined space, and not her body. The model was ultimately eliminated the following episode, in which she'd been unable to fit into a size 10 dress for a photo shoot and had to have her photo taken as a close-up. During the episode's deliberation, Perry stated that he wasn't looking for "Australia's next top head". Perry went on to explain, "As a model, no matter what environment you're shooting in, you need to be able to make it work, and she didn't. In regards to her elimination, models need to be able to fit into sample size dresses. She was given a standard size 10 dress to wear and could not fit into it."

When questioned over Perry's comments, Moone stated "It's a very bad message to be sending to young girls who watch the show. It's harsh. It's stupid. And it's out of touch. I understand it's a reality of the industry but this is a TV show and they should have a responsibility to censor that kind of thing. I know this has happened to other girls in the past but I was shocked when he said I was too fat. I'm only a size eight. There's going to be a lot of young girls watching this who are bigger than me, and how's this going to make them feel? I understand it's probably a reality of the industry but no one likes to be told they look fat - regardless of what job you are in, I have never thought of myself as fat. I am a health freak. I go to the gym and eat well."

There was also some backfire from animal rights group PETA over the prominent use of animal fur in one of the photo shoots of the series. Foxtel defended the shoot, with a spokeswoman explaining that it had been inspired by Native American culture. The representative stated "It is a trend and idea borrowed from a past culture. Foxtel, ANTM producers, host (Sarah Murdoch) and the judges in no way condone the ongoing practice of producing fashion items using real fur." Prior to this, the show had already met criticism over its use of fur in a shoot for the previous cycle.

External links

• Official website (archive at the Wayback Machine)