CATWALK MAG JAN 2017

C A T WA L K

I S S U E # 1

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O N T H E C O V E R : C A T WA L K shazzy valentine & Morgan Whitfield 1

M O D E L S

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EDITORIAL - 80’S REVIVAL

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THE DAWN OF BENTO Type to enter text

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MR & miss model international

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EDITORIAL - dark romance

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80’s REVIVAL Designers found inspiration from the iconic 1980’s for 2017 .

OUR CATWALK MODELS USED THE 80’S FOR INSPIRATION in THIS EDITORIAL WHILE HAVING A bLAST !

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THE 1980‘S THE RISE OF THE YUPPIE and reaganomics..BUT AT THE SAME TIME POLITICAL UNREST WAS BALANCED OUT WITH THOSE WHO WENT AGAINST THE GRAIN . This was expressed in both music and fashion...

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MODELS Morgan Whitfield, Ahn Avion, Alex Avion, Viana Oaks, Rosen, Red Jess, Rienna Thorne, Catalysis, Liberty Lighthouse, Mrs. Kitty Dark Rage, Vann Underwood and QueenBrat Bracken

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F

or many individuals, Second Life is a journey to define themselves and encounter new possibilities.

That is why people celebrate changes that are made to the platform which seek to enhance their playing experience to make it more realistic. One of these recent changes is called “bento.� As of December 2016, it went live in the standard Second Life viewer and the widely used Firestorm. In fact, the Firestorm website crashed because so many people were vying for the chance to download the new viewer immediately after its release. This demonstrates the high level of anticipation felt by SL users.

Bento is a new skeleton created for the avatar which allows a greater variety of movements due to the increased number of bones and thus, attachment points. Bento also allows certain mesh body parts to be manipulated and changed using the traditional shape sliders in the edit appearance window. This improvement has been utilized to create mesh body parts with a greater range of movement. Heads made in a particular way that now allows faces to be animated. Given these improvements to the Second Life avatar and the opening of doors to new possibilities and customization, Catwalk Magazine took to the SL streets to get people’s opinions on the changes.

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To further gather information about SL users opinions of bento heads, an online survey was conducted.

All of the respondents stated they have a mesh head and all of them had bought a bento head as well. The answers varied in that several people liked how realistic mesh heads look in general while another mentioned how well the mesh photographs and requires less post-processing.

An anonymous respondent said that it’s a way to “keep current.”

In terms of the positive side of the bento heads, Leah McCullough said “I really love how the same mesh can be adapted and look so differently when you change the shape, skin, etc.” Several others echoed the opinion that it allows individuals to look unique.

Onix1997 said she bought a bento mesh head so she “can have a unique face with excellent skin quality.”

There were multiple drawbacks identified by respondents of the survey. About half the respondents disliked that some of the sliders did not change the face at all. Specifically, one respondent brought up the lack of chin cleft and jowl functionality. The same person also identified that a challenge with the bento head is that there is a limit to the number of layers you can wear on the face. Some models depend on things like freckles, moles or face shading to achieve their look.

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In general, people expressed the view that it was challenging to exactly match their system head and thus made it diďŹƒcult to keep their same look from before. Most people who took the survey said they were not able to duplicate their system face shape. Leah McCullough stated she was able to get it to look about 90% like her system head and even helped some of her friends to modify their shapes.

How will bento mesh heads change the fashion world? Currently, there exist modeling agencies that will not allow the use of mesh heads on the runway. When mesh bodies first came out, they were also initially prohibited due to the amount of scripts contained within the mesh and its potential to cause lag at shows. The paradigm shift came when more designers started making mesh clothing and appliers to fit the bodies. Some designers have switched to doing that exclusively.

Some models believe that the rule barring the use of regular or bento mesh heads will eventually be eliminated; this view was reflected in survey responses. As one person put it, the modeling world should use and follow the technological changes happening in SL to avoid being seen as old-fashioned. Most of the respondents were excited for the unique look possibilities that can be created with the heads.

So many models strive for - to stand out and be dierent.

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Opinions are certainly mixed about bento mesh heads. But even the heads themselves will likely get more advanced over time. Some companies have already made the heads look smoother and provided additional expression options. In the end, it will be up to each consumer to make the decision about whether or not bento is worth pursuing.

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As residents of Second Life look toward 2017, the fashion industry is gearing up for several prominent competitions in the coming months.

The first of these is what this article is about today - the Mr. & Miss Model International competition, which is inarguably the most transparent competition on the grid.

Now going into its third year, MMI, run by L'Amour CEO Ava Jhamin and former competitor and now COO Cyberdawg Foxclaw, established itself in 2015 as being uniquely inclusive, accepting contestants from all walks of SL - not just the fashion side - with the imperative, "Be YOU." Being a certified model has never been a requirement for this competition, as they welcome anyone with a flair for styling, and that, to me, is refreshing. Human avatar, furry, vampire, goth, city slicker, biker, it doesn't matter. If you can style, you're welcome to compete. No other competition I have seen on the grid does this.

Also refreshing is that at the time MMI began, most competitions required that your real life gender match your avatar's gender, and if it did not, you were ineligible to compete. MMI's management said nerts to that! In an in-world competition why should it even matter that someone who is female in SL is male in RL, or vice versa? Their "be yourself" philosophy is based entirely on who the contestants are in world, and it was interesting to note that in its first year, at least three of MMI's top ten finalists were individuals whose real life gender did not match that of their Second Life avatar. Also interesting is that over this past year, several other competitions have (finally!) followed suit and done away with the rule about real life and Second Life gender-matching.

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I competed in MMI that first year on an alt, mostly out of curiosity, and was a judge and sponsor the following year, so I have the benefit of having seen things from both sides of this competition and can only say this: the professionalism of the staff, the camraderie of the contestants, the way everyone helps each other, the enormous opportunity for growth, and the sheer hilarity that sometimes takes place sets this competition miles apart from the rest.

One former contestant had this to say about her experience: "My experience in MMI 2016 was, exhausting, challenging but most importantly FUN. This was my first competition as a model and I'm happy it was. I learned so much about myself during the process. I'm very big on staying true to who I am, (and) to be a part of a competition that stressed that was wonderful. Yes the judges added their 2 cents. But in life everyone is going to judge and have something to say. It comes down to you the individual. Once you know who you are the voices of others wouldn't influence your drive. It's very easy to get lost in this modeling world with people tucking you in every direction, wanting you to change your shape, skin, face, eyes, etc etc etc. In my opinion a successful model creates her own path, remaining true to her style, her vision, her personality, her character, staying true to Her. I think that's what MMI is trying to teach many models stick to who you are!!"

Another spoke about feedback, and how it helped him advance in the competition, saying, "Was it stressful? For me, yeah it was. But the feedback alone was worth the effort that was put in. Even if you disagree with the judges' remarks, there is always something that you can take with you for future consideration, and there is always something you can use right now to improve your experience and your performance. I wasn't much of a photographer, going into that competition, but I learned quickly and actually managed to win a photo challenge, thanks to some very constructive feedback from judges."

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In a recent Model's Workshop about the competition, the reigning Miss Model International, AriannaJasmine, echoed the remarks about the significance and benefit of the judges' feedback and stating that it was a tremendous learning experience for her. MMI is known for providing feedback - complete with scores - to any contestant who wants it, and they hold feedback meetings after each week's challenge, during which contestants can not only receive their scores and judges' comments, but also engage in a bit of Q & A about the competition and what's coming up in the next weeks.

Another thing that really sets this competition apart from others is the way everyone - from management, to staff, to contestants - is willing to help each other. Yes, it's a competition, but it's almost as if winning is secondary to everything else that is gained. It's a huge opportunity for personal growth.

Before I go on to tell you how to enter, allow me to close this part with the words of MMI's COO, who had this to say at the Model's Workshop session: "We have some really challenging weeks ahead with this year's competition themes, but we think our contestants are going to love it.

You will stretch your boundaries, you will be challenged like never before, and you will learn so much about yourself and your abilities that truly, everyone should do this competition."

I'm sure if you've read this far, this is the part you've been waiting for how do I enter? Well, that's easy.

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If you want more information about MMI, the schedule of events, or anything else, please contact Ava Jhamin or Cyberdawg Foxclaw, and they can provide you all the pertinent information.

So there you have it. As I tell my students, every model in Second Life should enter at least one major competition during their career, if for no other reason than the experience. And what an experience you'll have if you enter this one!

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Madhupak (39,241,100)

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this winter trend is inspired by the baroque period and edgy goth attire .

Our CATWALK MODELS TOOK THIS TREND AND styled romantic winter looks .

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Amity Sorbet

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Cy Foxclaw

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Shazzy Valentine

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Sidney Abbot

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Viana Oaks

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