Model Search Winners 2003

Here they are — the 2003 MORE/Wilhelmina Model Search winners. From more than 10,500 entrants across the nation, MORE magazine and Wilhelmina Modeling Agency chose 10 finalists, and then these three women who captured top honors in the fourth annual contest.

From left, first runner-up Linda Fischer, 50, graphic artist from Napa, California; center, Grand Prize winner Tina Kraft-Brickowski, 41, a stay-at-home mom from Lake Oswego, Oregon; right, second runner-up Michele Smith, 46, an interior designer from New York City.

All Photos: Doug Goodman

Gowns by top designers were worn for the model contest Finals Event runway show, held in July 2003 at Chelsea Piers in New York City. Linda Fischer, left, sports Nicole Miller; Michele Smith, center, shows an open midriff in a gown by Norma Kamali; and winner Tina Kraft-Brickowski models a black sateen gown by Donna Karan.

Kamali, interviewed at the show, said this of the MORE/Wilhelmina 40+ Model Search winners: “Because all of these women have a certain grace and confidence about them, they really should have clothes they don’t have to get squooshed into, but that can be draped over their bodies in a very classic, kind of goddessy way.”

Born: 6/24/62Occupation: Stay-at-home mom; launching houseware gift serviceChildren: Jack (2)Hometown: Lake Oswego, Oregon

Norma Kamali designed this gown, worn here by the winner of MORE/Wilhelmina’s 2003 Model Search, Tina Kraft-Brickowski, 41. “The woman over 40 doesn’t look like she’s over 40 anymore,” Kamali said as she discussed the contest after the winners were announced. “There’s a confidence and a beauty about her.”

Here, Model Search Winner Tina Kraft-Brickowski models a gown designed by Donna Karan. Beaming after the winners were announced, Kraft-Brickowski said she intended to call her 2-year-old son and her parents to announce her good fortune. “I’m a little overwhelmed,” she said, tears welling in her eyes. “But I couldn’t be happier. I’m just delighted.”

Asked how or when she intends to start a more serious modeling career after brief stints earlier in life, Kraft-Brickowski noted, “I’m going to take it one step at a time. I’ll just follow and see what doors open.”

She entered the contest on a whim. “It just seemed like a classy contest to enter. I said, ‘Hey, I’ll give it a go, send in the $20 and my photo, and see.’”

Born: 8/11/52Occupation: Graphic designerChildren: Lily (8)Hometown: Napa, California

Linda, 50, models another of Norma Kamali’s gowns. At the winners’ party, Kamali spoke of the clothes best suited for today’s woman over 40: “She has more choices,” Kamali said. “We don’t have to think so much about covering everything up as we do about what looks best on someone with this particular kind of body. It’s not about hiding things anymore.”

Linda smiled widely as master of ceremonies Louise Pitre, star of the Broadway show Mamma Mia, announced her turn on the runway. “This is what 50 looks like,” beamed Pitre, herself a MORE magazine reader. “Fabulous.”

Linda glowed after she was named first runner-up. “I feel a bit of tension, but it’s so thrilling,” she said, wiping away a tear. A MORE magazine reader, Linda said each month that she spied the entry coupon in the magazine, she moved one step closer to entering. Her husband, she said, strongly encouraged her to do so. “He’ll be so proud when he finds out,” she said. Linda’s first victory calls, she said, would be to her husband and 8-year-old daughter.

Flanked by second runner-up Michele Smith at right and other finalists in the MORE/Wilhelmina Model Contest, Linda Fischer dons Nicole Miller on her second turn.

Hair stylist to the stars Mark Garrison spoke of the style he wanted to create for Linda and other contestants. “We wanted to keep it very simple to bring out the natural beauty of every woman,” said Garrison. “Nothing should be too big. The styles are for women over 40, but they’re ageless. The idea: Keep the hair very simple and sleek. Keep a very natural look for the hair, and for the woman.”

Born: 8/17/56Occupation: Interior DesignerChildren: daughter (30)Hometown: New York City

On her first turn down the runway, Michele Smith models a gown by Donna Karan. “I’m so happy I became one of the winners,” she said beaming, after the winners were announced. Three friends, she said, encouraged her to enter the contest and she brushed them off until the last minute. “A month before the deadline, I decided to enter.”

She said she hopes to start working soon, supplementing work as a designer with modeling contracts through Wilhelmina. “I’m so excited,” she said.

For her second turn down the runway, Michele models a gown by Norma Kamali. “Women over 40 are not the ‘My mother, your grandmother’ sort of image any longer,” Kamali said at the runway event in New York City. “These women are special, and they know it.”