Nigel Barker Talks About America ‘s Next Top Model

Let’s face it. America ‘s Next Top Model isn’t just about the gorgeous women that flaunt their stuff on the runway and in front of the menacing eyes of Tyra Banks. The show actually adds spice to our primetimes viewing by including a real life hottie behind the judges’ table. We’re talking about none other than Nigel Barker, a former model turned fashion photographer and industry expert.

Among the judges on America ‘s Next Top Model, the British photographer seems to be the most direct in providing feedback to the contenders, especially if her personality isn’t satisfying the judges. His skill in dealing with people–particularly model wanna-bes–must come from his experience in the fashion industry, as he has spent years working both in front and behind the camera.

Apparently it was his mother, a former Miss Sri Lanka beauty, who convinced him to pursue a modeling career, as he was completing his studies in medicine.

“My mum was Miss Sri Lanka years ago, and she became obsessed with this model search show called The Clothes Show,” Nigel Barker explained. “She entered me in it in the mid-80s, and I got into the top three. I was studying to be a doctor at the time, but that show launched my modeling career.”

He added that his experiences have given him a whole new perspective of the modeling industry, even if it is sometimes not apparent to the viewers at home.

“Some [viewers] complain that a lot of the girls we select aren’t even pretty enough to be models…But the thing that differentiates a top model from a regular model isn’t generally that she’s more beautiful,” he explained. “There’s a lot to be said for charm and personality, or just being striking. Look at Kate Moss. When she came along, people said she was too short, too flat chested and had a face like an alien. Now she’s everybody’s darling and, even if she does incredible amounts of drugs, people still hire her.”

In talking about his relationship with fellow judges such as Tyra Banks, he said, “We’re like family. We giggle and laugh and crack jokes, and sometimes we get so hysterical we have to pull ourselves together because we’re wasting tape.”

Nigel Barker added that it isn’t all about fun and laughter, as even the judges also get caught up in the reality competition drama. Sending a contestant home isn’t all that easy, as they are dealing with teenagers whose emotions are quite delicate in an environment such as a reality show.

But despite the hardships and the tears, it all comes down to the passion one feels for the industry and the art.

“The rest of the world might find that all very shallow compared with, say, being a surgeon saving a life, but to the people within the fashion industry, it’s a vocation,” Barker explained. “They feel a calling to it. I feel a calling to it, too. Perhaps, one day I’ll exceed my diva quotient and have to do something else, but not for a while yet, I hope.”

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