Miss alternative UK preview
Please note: Miss Alternative UK has now unfortunately been cancelled.
Miss alternative UK is the newest event on the alt calender. Launched by D & Missy (of the infamous London event Club antichrist), Miss alternative UK is a modeling competition for the alternative scene, which celebrates the unique and diverse women of the alt scene; sort of like a more gore-tastic Miss world!
We've still got a few months to wait until the winner is crowned, and whilst prepations begin for their star studded final this May we thought we'd find out a little bit more about the Miss alternative UK finals, & just how the contest came to be.
Most readers will recognise you from your largely successful alternative clubnight Club antichrist; but what sparked the idea to turn your hands to running Miss alternative UK?
Club AntiChrist is well established now, and although we are always tweaking the formula slightly to try to improve it, it's easy enough to run now! We were looking for a fresh challenge, something big and exciting to do. We had toyed with the idea of a Miss Alternative competition before, years ago, but had too much on our plate with AC at the time. A chance conversation last September reminded us of our idea, and we thought the time was right!
The competition hasn't been for just alternative models, but anyone within the scene which has been pretty inspiring; what made you decide to do this with Miss alternative UK?
Because anyone alternative has the potential to be an alternative model. Obviously the aim of the competition is to find 'Miss Alternative' who could go on to be the next supermodel of the alt world, but we just didn't see any reason in excluding people who have little or no experience in modelling.
You've certainly pulled in quite an impressive number of entrants for the competition; are you surprised at how well received Miss alternative UK has been?
Yes! We didn't expect to have so many entrants in it's first year. We're very pleased that the idea is so popular, and we're also very pleased with the sheer mix of entrants! We have a wide age range (even one grandmother) and all sorts of styles from punk to lolita to hardcore goth. Of course, the fantastic prize packages probably has a lot to do with the number of entrants too.
You've recently announced the celebrity panel for the finals, how did you pick the final judging team?
We wanted to make sure that we had varied opinions, ages and lifestyles covered. Steven Severin (Siouxsie and the Banshees) has influenced the Alt/goth scene since the late 70's.
Samppa von Cyborg has pioneered body modification techniques, and has personally modified hundreds of people. Grog and Masuimi Max give us the female perspective - Grog is a firm part of the alt scene and has been the lead singer of Die so Fluid since it's inception in 2000.
Masuimi Max will have the insight that only an international model and performer can give.
We also chose our online judges carefully for the same reasons -
to cover as many alt lifestyles as possible, so all the entrants may feel they have been judged fairly.
With the voting round just opened for Miss alternative UK, how will the final judging round with the online panel kick off to help pick the finalists & winner?
50% of the finalists will be chosen by the online judging panel, and the other 50% of the finalists will be decided by the results of the online vote. Each entrant has a 'vote for me' button on their profile page, and anybody may vote. There are also anti-cheating measures in place to ensure the online vote is as fair as possible. On April 14th voting closes and the 12 entrants with the most public votes and the 12 entrants with the top scores from the online judges will be announced the following week.
With 4 rounds during the Miss alternative UK finals what can we expect to witness in each round with the finalists?
The first round will be a catwalk show - not like the incredibly dull 'everyone the same' shows you might see in Miss World for example - but a celebration of the finalist's own personal style. This round will be followed by a performance and a live on-stage elimination.
Round 2 is 'Free Speech', where the remaining finalists have a chance to tell us and the judges why they think they should win the competition. Another performance and elimination follows. Round 3 is the talent show. We know that alternative models aren't just faces or clotheshorses like many mainstream models. We also know that in the world of alt modelling, a skill can be invaluable on a shoot. So the finalists will be able to show us what their talent may be. We obviously can't plan this stage at all, which makes me a bit nervous! I hope we get some singing or dancing though :)
Will there be any special surprises for the Miss alternative UK finals?
Of course! But if I told you now, they wouldn't be surprises!
Following this years crowning can we expect to see an Miss alternative UK 2012?
We do intend this to be an annual event, and if this year is a success we plan to expand next year to include 'Mr Alternative' and 'Ms Alternative' (to include TV/TS persons).
The voting round has now opened to the public vote, you can find out more about the entrants and make your vote over at http://missalternative.co.uk.
Tickets are also now on sale for the live finals on May 14th at London's Scala.
