Both bubble with confidence about their futures in the business, but are still hedging their bets. Huan is taking a work-study program at a major Beijing hotel. Zhen is studying management at Beijing Industrial College. For most Chinese girls, the path to the catwalk begins in a modeling competition. The industry is new,'' says Cheng.
Competitions increase interest.
It's our equivalent of the beauty pageants held abroad. Photos of models are tacked and taped to his walls. A bookshelf in the corner is piled with fashion magazines, catalogs and programs from competitions. In a back room, models while away their time watching TV and videos. A representative of a Japanese carmaker asked in exasperation why Beijing didn't supply models for publicity work.