Reality Sass: "America's Next Top Model" looks to live up to its name

I’ve had a long relationship with “America’s Next Top Model,” since way back when Tyra Banks was still on cordial terms with the first season winner, Adrianne Curry. I’ve watched the show for so long that I know the pattern that goes along with being the winner of the show: They are never really top models but more like America’s Next Mediocre Model who does wig modeling on the side.

As “America’s Next Top Model” moves into its 15th season, Tyra promises that this time is the “high fashion” season. And the prizes are major: a cover of Vogue Italia’s beauty issue and two editorials in the regular issue, a contract with the prestigious IMG Model Management and, of course, a $100,000 contract with CoverGirl cosmetics. I thought that the last season would turn around when Vogue editor at large André Leon Talley finally took a seat at the judges’ table, but last season’s winner kind of disproved that, since I haven’t heard from her in a while. But Vogue Italia is a big deal, in the way that Tyra’s hair is always a big deal. It’s funny that it took 15 seasons for her to realize that the show needed credibility in the form of such a prominent publication.

Do I believe that finally, ANTM, a feeder of pipe dreams to the most determined of model wannabes, will finally produce a model that would get covers and work in the industry? Perhaps, but I’m still skeptical. With high-profile fashion figures such as Italian Vogue editor Franca Sozzani and designer Diane von Furstenberg, ANTM has gotten top guest stars, but the girls are still impressionable and feisty at best. At the end of the day, it’s a television show with a predilection to stir up drama, modeling career notwithstanding.