By Rachel Ogbu

On Saturday the 3 December 2011, Janita Francis and Raphael Olaiya took the Top Model of Colour (TMC) Season 6 titles at the Grand Finale of TMC, which was held at Porchester Hall in West London.

The models took to the catwalk and were a vision of style and class in their elegant dresses and sharp suits.  It was a fantastic evening and the calibre of this year’s contestants was very impressive; they conveyed passion and eagerness when showing off their modelling skills and were extremely confident on the runway, all with the makings of being great supermodels.

When asked what winning this competition meant to them, TMC Season 6 Female Winner, Janita Francis said: “it has always been my dream to win TMC. I am still in shock as even though I was determined to win I never thought that I would especially when I looked at the strong calibre of women that were in the finale with me. For me, it is a dream come true and the beginning of even greater things to come,” she said.

TMC 2011 Male Winner, Raphael Olaiya said being slightly shorter than all of the other male contestants was a challenge. “I thought I was at a disadvantaged especially when the modelling industry wants men to be a minimum height of 5.11 plus. I am ecstatic and overwhelmed at winning and I will do TMC proud,” he said.

TMC creator & creative director, Sola Oyebade felt that this year was one of the toughest finales to date as the quality of the contestants was outstanding and anyone of them could have won. 

TMC strives to raise the profile of models of colour so that seeing a diverse range of men and women on the covers of magazines, in catwalk shows and in advertising campaigns will become common place. TMC is also pleased to announce that it will be having two winners in the female category for Season 7- one of whom will be a Commercial winner (for those under 5.8) and the other, an overall TMC winner. The competition will also be opened to international contestants for the first time ever as the UK will now be hosting TMC International.

Top model of colour is produced by Mahogany Productions in association with Mahogany Model Management. The TMC Competition aims to give models of colour exposure within the fashion industry as well as presenting them with the opportunity to take advice from professionals on how to improve their skills and become a successful model.  TMC runs every year and is opened to both female and male models of Asian, African, Caribbean, Hispanic, Oriental, and Mix Heritage decent.

Oluwapelumi