And the Tresemmé runway winners are...

The judges have made their decision” is a phrase that is more than familiar if you’re a reality-show junkie, and one that can make or break a career, and making a career was certainly on the minds of many during the 2014 Tresemmé Runway Ready Show held last Thursday at the SM Mega Fashion Hall. Tresemmé, the official hair partner of Asia’s Next Top Model, scoured the streets of Pampanga, Cavite, Baguio, Cebu, and Davao in order to find the best male and female models for the biggest casting call in the country and one that made Tresemmé history. Over 600 hopefuls, a fair mix of amateur, semi-professional, and professional models, gathered in order to strut their stuff and be chosen as the top 200 who will walk the final catwalk in June and get to don the latest international hair trends and styles.

“You need to have runway-ready hair and the fiercest walk to attract our panel of judges,” said host and Tresemmé Tresetter Raymond Gutierrez, who also introduced Tresemmé’s new correspondent and latest Tresetter, top fashion blogger Tricia Gosingtian, as well as the Tresemmé professionals present that included Lourd Ramos, Victor Ortega, and Jing Monis. These triple-threat stylists oversaw the work at the show’s pop-up salons where potential finalists could get their tresses done up beforehand. We all know how important our hair is when it comes to our overall look, but at this runway show, it was nearly everything. The mane attraction, if you will. According to Raymond who spilled on the judging criteria, “50 percent goes to salon-gorgeous hair, which translates to look and style of the hair, 30 percent goes to looks, that’s height, proportion, and versatility, and 20 percent is all about presence — your stage presence and confidence on the runway.” Speaking of judging, in order to choose the best, Tresemmé had to have the best. That’s why the panel of esteemed judges was made up of none other than fashion director Robby Carmona, celebrity stylist Liz Uy, and the head of Unilever Personal Care, Apples Aberin. Prior to the start of the show, Richard probed the three judges with varying questions.

Richard: What makes a model stand out from the crowd?

Robby: A model who develops his or her own style, especially with their catwalk skills. It’s something you can totally remember with a model – a walk that is distinctly their own.

Richard: For you, how important is hair in achieving an overall look?

Liz: Hair, everything from how it’s styled to the way it bounces, will determine the whole look. That’s why it’s called our crowning glory.

Richard: How important is Tresemmé in the fashion industry here in the Philippines?

Apples: It’s very important because we are the purveyor of trends here in the Philippines and we work with all the top professionals in the industry because we do want people to get salon-gorgeous hair. That’s what we’re all about.

With the standard set and what I’m sure was an overcrowded backstage area, the show kicked off. Despite the number of participants having suddenly increased to nearly 700 just before, nearly every set of models was greeted with anticipation and even cheers, especially as some left a fierce impression that even Tyra Banks would be proud of. Whether it was a dramatic hair flip, a coy wink, or a sassy sashay, you could tell who was in it to win it. I won’t lie; it was a tad bit disappointing not knowing who had been chosen yet after everything had wrapped up. It was like the TV was turned off during the last five minutes of a Top Model episode. But hey, that only made me even more excited for the grand, final show set next month that’s sure to be even bigger than hair was back in the ’60s. Keep up to date with Tresemmé on Twitter and Instagram (@TresemmePH), and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TresemmePH), to find out who really ruled the runway then.

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