Evane Models

I really don't know what to say about Evane.
I watched several shows with Evane and this time, I do want to show you some photos.

The lag was huge, obviously not Evane's fault. Lag in SL is one of the conditions SL models have to work with. The sim crashed.

It was a tough job for Mimmi Boa; she was the text announcer and also directing the models. With lots of lag, communication is hard, so there were many dead moments, which is understandable. Moments where Mimmi shouted out her directions to models on open chat, it was very laggy, it's easy to type the wrong code on chat. Being the owner of Evane, Mimmi could have someone announcing the designs and another person directing the show. She doesn't need to do all that herself.

I'm not going to show you all models that walked on the runway; I'll just focus on some of them. Plus, with that ammount of lag and model crashes, it was frequent to see the avatars not fully rezzed and ruthed. So, we'll just take a look at some of the models.

Evane has models and top models, it's in their tag. I have no idea what is the reason to have two tags for models. In this show, it was very clear that some models did better than some 'top models'. Let's see some of the models that walked.

Katherine Comet

Katherine is what I call a 'safe' model. She delievers. I mean, she can walk, pose and be average. I, personally, don't like her avatar. I don't think that she's fashionable, it kind of saddens me that so many models in SL have the exact same face as Katherine. Same skin, same make up. She is not a distinctive avatar. In this show she was just another model. She posed well - 101 posing - no particular mistakes.

Katherine tends to over style. See her nails in this photo? With her hand close to her face - with a very nice pose - her nails go right through her face. This kind of nails would do great with an avant garde style. Not here.

Next pose is just so '101', so 'new model'.

Nala Kurka
I'll only post this photo of Nala. In this set, she walked with heel sounds on. If the shoes provided don't have a hud to turn the heel sound off, she could have taken the script of the shoes. These little details make all the difference - a professional model would have taken care of that.

13 Cortes
13 was one of the best models in this show. If not the best. Her way of walking and posing is very professional. Besides that, her avatar is very high fashion.

13 walked with Jen Tafler - in the yellow dress - you can see the difference between the two avatars. 13 looks regal, Jen is regular.

Naiya Kazyanenko

Naiya did well.

In the next set, Naiya's poses were very good for the outfit. They seem the same pose, but it's two different poses.

Ida Boomhauer

What a strange experience, watching Ida walk. The next pose is regular.

The next pose, it's simply terrible! Terrible!

Next model's poses are a great example for new SL models to know what NOT TO do , ever!!

mariella Spiteller
mariella was one of the models that had the 'top' tag. Really? Does a top model pose like this?
A NOT TO DO pose: one foot off the ground.

and she did it again!

Another NOT TO DO pose: show you armpits like this.

And NOT like this either!

In the next set, mariella walked with her heels sound on too. What skills does a model have to have to be Evane 'Top Model', like mariella? Pose terribly and do everything a professional SL model isn't supposed to do?

What more can I say? There were more models in this show whose photos I don't post here. Honestly? Few Evane models considered the style they were wearing, when they posed. Some of these models are what we call 'popular' or 'known'. But nothing more than that.

It's really time to raise the bar. More quality, more professionalism in fashion shows. This show wasn't good. I'm not referring to SL situations that can't be avoided. For starters, the owner of the Model Agency shouldn't be doing anything. Not even if the clients ask for her. I'm talking about Mimmi Boa.

Once you are the owner, organize, help produce, be at the practices and make sure that models are doing the right thing. Monitorize. Owning a Model Agency is not an easy task. Ultimately, Mimmi Boa's role, as owner, would be to make sure the client got the best models, monitorize them, make sure they don't make mistakes on the runway.

Ultimately, review the models tags. Top Model tag helps to create unfairness inside the Agency itself; models that know how to walk and pose, asking themselves, 'why does that model have a top model tag, when I do it better'? Lots of situations may occur, once the model agency owner gives different tags to her models. But, oh well, this is just me thinking aloud.

Boulevard Models

So many SL Models would love to be a part of this model agency - Boulevard. I've heard that not all models can join, only a few and obviously the best - that's what I've heard. From what I've seen on this show, all models were/are related to BOSL, namely through MVW pageant.

As I say so many times, being a gorgeous avatar doesn't mean necessarily to be a good model. Boulevard Models were good. But, if really Boulevard Agency is 'THE' model agency in SL, that's questionable. All these models should be outstanding!

First, let's see the set where the fashion show took place. A huge auditorium, models were in one sim, audience in the other. The runway itself is extremely long, not helpful to SL conditions with working with lag and sim crashes. Show organizers must take this into consideration: provide a good set, the best sets are quite simple, avoiding heavy effects, scripts, etc.


During this show, the sim where the models were flickered twice - kind of disappeared in front of our eyes and came back up almost immediately.

The SL designer that was showcasing his collection is quite distinctive; all models walked with an emoter and it was part of the show.

The outfits, the styling, everything was very well put together. It demanded outstanding posing; extravagant posing would be the ideal. That means Boulevard Models should have gone out of their comfort zone, when posing. This was a high fashion show, requiring very different poses than the ones we see in a show with, let's say, gowns or street casual outfits or lingerie. The posing here should be extravagant and yet stylish. Every model must take this into consideration when they prepare for a fashion show. Let's see how Boulevard Models did. I'll show the photos in no particular order.

Miaa Rebane
All Miaa's poses were 'clean', I mean correct, technically. Hand off the skirts, no armpit poses. She was regular, posing. But for a show like this, where are the more extravagant poses? Something that would blow us all away, selling the outfits?

The next pose is used to avoid having hands inside the skirt, it's correct. But I, myself, demanded more here. More outstanding poses, according to the style of the designer. As you see, Miaa posed 'correctly', however she could have gone outside her comfort zone and really stand out.

Kay Fairey
The same thing happened with Kay. She posed correctly, let's say if this were a class, the posing would be 101. She knows the rules of posing and, from what I've seen, Kay has a couple of 'signature poses' - she uses them often in fashion shows.

The next pose in one of Kay's 'signature poses'.

Here is another of Kay's signature poses, next.

The next pose is not good for a 'supermodel'. It's 101 posing.

The next pose can be used with gowns, mostly, but Kay could have found different poses.

So, from these two first Boulevard Models, new SL models may see what is posing correctly, 'clean', posing with no mistakes. However, this show required more extravagant posing. These two models should have been outstanding. They were regular.

Devine Hunt
Devine has a stunning avatar, as you can see. However, through the different sets of outfits, she used the same pose, over and over again.

The next pose is outstanding. Posing with a bag isn't easy.

And then, Devine repeated this pose several times, with different outfits.

Devine posed correctly, but repetition of poses should be avoided, especially when people are watching a 'Boulevard Fashion Show'.


dancer Dallagio

I could only take two photos of dancer; after the sim went down and came back up, I saw her ruthed. The two poses she used were good, the second pose is different and creative.





Chirzaka Vlodovic
Chirzaka, just like Miaa and Kay, posed correctly. Model posing 101. She could have gone out of that safety zone with more extravagant posing.



The next is a great pose, daring and very natural.



Very nice job, next, posing with a hand bag.







blackLiquid Tokyoska

blackLiquid was below the average quality of Boulevard Models. The next pose is very 101. It's for beginner models, learning how to pose with hands out of the skirt.

When I mention extravagant posing, I don't mean the next pose. Posing with a finger is not for a fashion show. This wasn't the first time that blackLiquid has used this kind of pose. New models, take a note: this is not a pose to use on the runway, especially in a high fashion show.

Another 'gown' pose.

Next pose is excellent! Even without seeing the dress fully rezzed, I post it, because, again, it's not easy to pose well with a hand bag. This was a great choice to pose.

Next pose is used frequently by blackLiquid. This was the pose she used in front of the pannel of judges in her MVW audition and she used it here too. It's not a good pose at all.

The next poses are all 'gown' type. Hands off the skirt, correct, but these poses don't make sense in a fashion show like this.





And I saved the best for last. In my opinion, the only Boulevard Model that stood out, because of her posing.

Melanie Sautereau
Melanie wasn't afraid to 'get out there' with her posing. She chose some extravagant poses, she really stood out. With her posing, she really focused on the designer's style; very avant garde.





Amazing!










It's clear that Melanie took her time to find the appropriate poses for a high fashion show. It was great to see her posing, the outfits came to life and got character. Melanie Sautereau amazed me in this show. She went beyond the 'model posing 101' and gave the audience the true spirit of the designer's style. Great job!!

Mui Mukerji also was in this show. Unfortunately, I always saw her ruthed, hence not posting her photos.

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Important notes to consider:

- Lag is always, always a big issue in Fashion Shows.
- Show organizers and producers must provide a 'clean' environment for the show: simple sets, usually small, avoid scripted sets, without effects, particles or transparencies.
- If necessary, in case of huge fashion productions, consider the possibility of repeating the show, closing the sim to a certain number of people.
- Audience must be informed to lower their ARC. Models usually carry a lot of prims, heavily scripted items, etc. If every member of the audience respects that rule of lowering arc, it will be more pleasant to all.
- The best model agencies in SL care about details. I'd advise to select models that are sensitive to the designer's style, chosing poses accordingly.
- At this point, in SL Fashion, it's good to be demanding, to want more quality. To see SL models working hard, finding new poses, develop and update.

I'm always very demanding when I watch a fashion show with what people say is a good model agency. Boulevard had some very popular models, some people call them supermodels. A supermodel is someone who always, always is outstanding. There are few supermodels in SL. I've seen none at Boulevard. Melanie Sautereau is very close to being one. She was outstanding!!

Copyright issues - Fair Use

There has been a big issue, as you all may see in my blog's comments, regarding copyright of the SL Model's printscreens I uploaded here.

Very well, let's be clear what copyright protection is all about:

basicly, in general, copyright protection is supposed to protect authors from illegal copies, that may be used commercially and gain economical profit from someone else's work - whatever it may be, music, art, any kind of intellectual proterty, including text. Also the illegal copies that will affect in any way the original market value of the author's product. This is the basic idea of copyright protection.

DMCA is itself a version of the Copyright Law of the United States of America, applied to digital work - meaning webcontents.

According to article 107 of the Copyright Law of the Unites States of America, I'm not in copyright infringement ( and this also applies to DMCA).

_______________________________________

107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use

the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include —

(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

________________________________________


After careful consideration of the Law, and also respecting blackLiquid's request to remove her photographs, I will remove the author's images and keep the essencial of my review.

Let's stick to the subject in question and not diverge into other issues that may distract everybody from the point I wanted to make.

I'm a blog author, I state my own opinions here, I do not insult anyone, nor do I instigate violence of any kind. However, I'm entitled to state my opinions freely. Everybody is free to read it or not. Everybody is free to agree or disagree with my opinions.

It's my prerrogative to filter the comments made in my blog. I have only one filter, as I have said: be polite and your comments are allowed.

One last note: no more comments about copyright infringement will be allowed. The review I wrote was about a SL Model and her attitudes.

Much appreciated for all your comments.

The right to answer back

Everybody has the right to answer to a situation when people may feel comfortable or uncomfortable with.
Regarding to my latest post, blackLiquid Tokyoska has the right to answer back.

She sent me an e-mail I'm going to publish here, with her own perspective, her point of view and a request. My answer to her e-mail is only posted here, not answered back to her e-mail.

Hello there Fashion Critique, it was lovely to see your post about me recently on your blog, I feel quite special that you have written about me 3 times in 7 months always getting free advertising from you is wonderful, however I would appreciate it if you could remove my images as you haven't asked for my permission to use them and I would rather that they are not used in this context. As you can see from my tumblr site http://blackliquid.tumblr.com/photography in my photography information section; "||ALL IMAGES REMAIN THE PROPERTY OF blackLiquid PHOTOGRAPHY AND ARE NOT FOR RESALE UNLESS NEGOTIATED WITH blackLiquid Tokyoska, IMAGES TO BE USED

FOR COMMERCIAL PUROSES ARE TO BE NEGOTIATED ON PRIOR TO USE, IMAGES MAY NOT BE TAKEN OR USED BY ANYONE WITHOUT PURCHASE OR WITHOUT PRIOR CONSENT FROM blackLiquid Tokyoska, IMAGES MAY NOT BE ALTERED OR CROPPED WITHOUT PRIOR CONSENT."

I appreciate your cooperation in removing my images.

Thanks for your time.

blackLiquid Tokyoska.

__________________________

Hello there blackLiquid,

Appreciated for your e-mail.
I'm glad my latest post has made you feel special.

I have only a few points to underline:

1. Your legal copyright disclaimer, stated in your e-mail, refers to your Tumblr website. The printscreens I uploaded here are from Flickr, public web content, searchable on google.

2. As I mentioned above and it's clear in my latest post, I didn't upload your photos. I uploaded printscreened public web content, with a link to your Flickr page, as legal courtesy.

3. Since you do not contest that the photos and text are yours, I don't see any reason to remove my printscreens of Flickr public content. I made clear who is the photographer and who is the avatar in the photo - you; who wrote the text - you. So, I'm not saying that the photos are mine. They are yours, it's public on Flickr. This is not content theft.

4. You ask me to remove your images, because I didn't ask your permission to use them. But I didn't not upload your photos. I uploaded public web content I searched on Google and I printscreened. You may see that I didn't change or crop any of your photos, because I didn't use your photos, even less from any Tumblr webpage.

So, your copyright legal disclaimer doesn't apply in this circumstance.

I did my best to identify the author of the photos and text shown in my printscreens, as it should be, legally, because the photos and text in the printscreens are not mine. Even though it's public content on Flickr - searchable on Google - I had the courtesy of identifying the author - you.

I'm glad you feel wonderful with me freely advertising you. Hence it doesn't make sense to remove my own printscreens of photos taken by you, posted in public Flickr pages, searchable by anyone and plus, giving you the ownership of photos and text, which you do not contest- you actually say they are yours.
I did the right thing. Gave you the complete ownership of the photos and text you have posted in Flickr public contents.

Again, much appreciated for your answer.
I will keep the printscreens of your photos and text in my blog, as they are, with the correct credits to who wrote that and who is in the photo. They are yours. You have absolute ownweship of what was photographed, posted and said, publicly on Flickr. Public content doesn't need legal permission to be printscreened or even screen photographed with a digital camera, if it were the case.

I'll be here, as always,
Fifth Avenue aka FC

Model Competitions in SL - Model's attitude

There are continuous contests for SL Models. Ultimately, everybody gains from them: some designers expand their brand; SL Models want their name known; SL photographers have their names out there too.

In my opinion, regarding competitions or contests, the contestants must be psychologically prepared for everything, especially prepared NOT TO win. There will be a winner, if it's you, good; if it's not you good, too.

That's why we are in the adult grid in SL. People are supposed to be more mature. Winning and losing are part of life.

Recently, I was informed of a situation with a SL Model who doesn't react well to not winning. I usually tell the Models' names, so I'm going to do it. I was lucky to see this Model's Flickr page the exact day when the winners of the competition were announced. It's a very good example of what NOT TO do, in Model competitions.

I have followed this lady's modeling career and then I stopped doing it, because of the ammount of situations I was informed about this person's attitude. And attitude matters, even in SL!

I'm talking about blackLiquid Tokyoska.
With an amazing avatar, this SL Model has been everywhere in SL Fashion: designers' stores, Model's competitions; photo contests; fashion shows, etc.

There are pros and cons about having a very distinctive avatar. Obviously, one of the pros is being distinctive, hence unique. Recognizable even without looking at her name. This is very important for every SL Model. Only a few have managed to have this kind of uniqueness.

A big con is that if we find the same avatar in many places, we soon get tired of it, hence the importance of changing and developing, always.

blackLiquid is one of these cases. She is one of the finalists for MVW - meaning she is finalist in a beauty pageant (beauty and style are to be considered here).
But to be a SL Model is different and modeling competitions are different from MVW.

Different in its essence. To be a finalist in a beauty pageant is all about beauty, a model's competition is about a lot of things, not based on a simple walk.
If the contest is well done, there should be several steps in the competition casting: first, a pannel of judges; then, have the judges relate to the Model, ask questions, see what she says and how she says things; another step could be styling up according to the some rules. All these may take some time, not exactly taking place in the same day.

Another thing to consider in Model's Competitions is that if a pannel of judges is present, the final results may not seem fair to all. Opinions vary, a lot! Everybody in the audience may have a favourite model, wether because he/she is a friend or if we love the styling, etc, several reasons to have a favourite. But the judges have the final word. Period!

blackLiquid joined a Model competition and didn't win. She was not in the first three. Immediately after the results, with all candidates on the catwalk, she left the stage. SL allows us to teleport, so people may 'vanish' , just like that. If this was RL, we would see a candidate walk and physically leave.

This is a terrible thing for a Model to do! If the person in question doesn't have the necessary respect for that pannel of judges, why join in the first place?
After not winning this competition, in the exact same day, blackLiquid posted a text in her Flickr account, trashing the contest, contesting the winner.




Here is the living proof of what a SL Model should NEVER do!!

blackLiquid quickly updated this text. I was lucky to to see it the day it was posted, about a week ago.



Why did she change the text of this photo?
Maybe because, in the day I saw it, there was a comment made by one of MVW organization members, carefully telling her that winning or losing is part of business(in other words). Is it possible that blackLiquid was afraid she would be out of MVW pageant with this kind of attitude? Who knows? But I can tell you, something happened here!

It's very obvious that to have a gorgeous avatar and to actually be a greceful person may not go hand in hand!
I'll be honest with you! I'd never ever hire such a Model, if I owned a SL Model Agency!

The truth is, blackLiquid may have a great avatar, but let's face it, so do many SL Models! In the end, what really counts is the ability to adapt to all circumstances, to be professional and humble, accept winning or losing with poise and grace. SL Models that are still outstanding have a positive attitude towards their career and most of all, they relate to other people with a kind manner.

I was already aware that some people in SL Modeling Industry already consider blackLiquid to be 'difficult' in terms of relashionship. This was the last drop.

All SL Models should look at this as a thing NOT TO do. She may have finished her Modeling career in SL. The best SL Model Agencies may not want to work with a person with such a personality.

What I have shown you is a fact! I'm not lying or making this up! This happened, proven here. Maybe blackLiquid made a mistake. It's a lesson not to act impetuously in the future. Every Model should learn from this.

The Art of Posing in SL and other things

I do pay much attention to poses in SL Modeling.
There is a great difference between RL and SL in this aspect: Models in SL really have this handicap - they need to have poses to use on the runway.

Obviously, in RL, what they have to do is use their own body.
And that is really an art, even in RL.
No matter how controversial it may be, American's Next Top Model with Tyra Banks is a great example of this. Ladies from all over the country try their best to win. And what do we see? Many of them with gorgeous faces, beautiful bodies, they simply don't manage to win the competition.

Since it's a reality show, we get to see what happens with those ladies when they are in the house, the relationship they create with their room mates.

Some of them, really don't get it!! And yes, it's also a matter of character, personality.

But when they have photoshoots, so many things become clearer. How they place their bodies, their facial expressions, hands, legs, everything counts. It's really amazing how we can see the strength of character by looking at a photo frame.

In SL, even if this sounds strange or weird, somehow the audience really gets the same feelings. The SL Model character shines through. That's why I firmly believe that not all beautiful faces should be Models in SL.

To win a beauty pageant is one thing, to be a Model is another - I can say for sure, completely different.

Let's see things from this perspective: if we take away the personal relationships people may have with this or that SL Model, just look, observe; there are some SL Models that simply stand out!

Again, this is a matter of opinion, hence the controversy. I like to watch fashion shows with Models that, once they strut that runway, people can't take their eyes off of her/him. The Model stands out!

And posing has a lot to do with that!
Shape and skin, also.
Having a good pc too.

It's absolutely important that SL Model Agencies keep looking for the best Models. And I don't mean the 'Diva like Model'. I mean, maybe a Model that could have been unknown and sudenly has been growing up, developping, becoming a good professional. And keep being demanding. Insist on that.

Insist on good poise on the runway. Insist on walking straight. Insist on demanding professionalism. In my opinion, regarding this topic, SL Model Agencies should be extremely demanding, because the Agency represent their Models. The best the Model is, the best the Agency is.

Another aspect of a SL Model's personality is to be humble, always. Listen to what you are told and be humble.

Be humble in contests, in pageants.
The Model's attitude towards this, says a lot about the person herself/himself.

Lately, there has been a growing number of contests in SL Modeling. But if we pay attention, the best models have steady jobs - without even entering a contest. They don't need to join contests to be hired, to be selected in castings. It's a matter of attitude.

And let me tell you, there are always 'diva kind of' Models. Always.

If SL Models accept my advices, here they are:

- be humble, always. The best SL Model Agencies will not accept arrogance, disguised in several forms.

- be updated, always. Not only go shopping, but also go and find new designers, tiny shops that have great items and are simply unknown - up to the moment when any 'famous' Model finds them.

- analize your pc behaviour in laggy situations; if your pc can't keep up with lag, you have two choices: quit being a SL Model or get yourself a better pc.

- prepare, prepare, prepare; don't go to a Fashion Show without testing the clothes and a dozen (or more) poses.

- I said this before: forget about Model AOs or Model huddles on the runway. Use manual poses. They won't fail in extremely laggy situations. Models may practice with huddles at home or even practicing with your fellow Models for a show. That is one thing. When you get to the show itself, lag will be huge, that huddles won't work, won't attach, whatever. Use manual poses. And this is a lot of work , isn't it? Chosing different poses - let's say 6 or 7 poses per outfit - it's not easy. It takes hard work. Because in the end, for just one Fashion Show, you may have to select, around 21 poses or so.

That's why it's an art: all the work the goes behind a Fashion Show, sometimes clothes being delivered just 10 minutes before it starts and have poses ready for it? Not easy work. But it has to be done! That's why some SL Model succeed and others don't.

It all comes to one thing: Modeling in SL can be professional or can simply be a comfort zone. And believe me, one or the other are clearly shown on the runway, once the Model steps on it!