M, the Search (Cycle 1)

The first cycle of *M, the Search* premiered on October 16, 2022. Casting opened on October 4th, 2022 and closed on October 9th, 2022. Shortly after, an announcement revealing the number of contestants (10) was released.

Italian supermodel Anunciata Mele joins the season as its main host. Alongside her in judging panel are Thai-British supermodel Nora Bailey, Indian celebrity stylist Parvathy Venkatachalam, and American-born Estonian creative director and internet personality Oliver Raudsepp.

This cycle featured two models who use gender non-conforming pronouns, those being Dot Osborne and Ingibjörg Þór who both use she/they.

The winner was 25-year-old **Dot Osborne** from the United States , with Efemena Oyinvwi from Nigeria  being the runner-up.

## Casting

During the five-day casting period, 45 models were chosen to be quarter-finalists. Out of those 45, only 20 made it to the semifinal round and had a K-pop inspired group shoot to determine the finalists, who were not revealed until the premiere of the first episode on October 16, 2022.

* Names in **bold** indicate eliminated semi-finalists

## Prizes

* A cover and spread in VOGUE
* An international Maybelline campaign
* An international ZARA campaign
* A modeling contract with NOTE-MODELS
* A cash prize worth $150,000

## Locations

* Los Angeles, Episodes 1-5, 7-8
* Budapest, Episodes 5-6
* Szabadkígyós, Episode 6
* San Diego, Episode 7

## Contestants

* 1 Dorothy Osborne went by Dot throughout the competition.

## Guests

Listed in chronological order:

* Ena Prince, fashion designer
* Ryan Cortazar, photographer
* Angela Miao, photographer
* Kristina Kaplan, Vuori representative
* Topher Kovacek, photographer
* Benoît Mubambwé, Bryan Chua, Manuel Vuong, Maurice Ganda & Theo van der Weide, male models
* Theresa Good, founder and chief hairdresser of Mireille Hair
* Manuel Herrera & Noelle Doan, hairdressers at Mireille Hair
* Shawn Collins, photographer
* BlitzDawgs, LA-based street dancing crew
* Mary Kowalska, Neutrogena representative
* Hikaru Miyazaki, photographer
* Aminata Kolley, Dinah Samani, Eve Keogh, Fereshteh Attar, Mina Reynolds, Nora Chung, Royalty Crawford, Samantha Haddad & Yoo Kyung Choi, FIDM students
* Cedric Macatuno, photographer and digital artist
* Suzy Razak, NOTE-MODELS manager
* Daisy Rodriguez & Kevin Aquino, Baja East representatives
* Rue Johnson, Converse representative
* Reggie "Big R" Armfield, Fear of God representative
* Jamie Stewart, La Roche-Posay representative
* The\_FLASH, creative director and photographer
* Darabos Éva, fashion designer
* Kátai Ilona, DAIGE representative
* Madarász Anna, fashion designer
* Klein Erika, Tomcsányi representative
* Kókai István, fashion show choreographer
* Czeglédi Antal, fashion show choreographer
* Deme János, photographer
* Pásztor László, photographer
* Mina Reynolds, photographer
* Julie Griffin, ZARA representative
* Kris Le, photographer
* Stella Goodman, Maybelline representative
* Malwyna George, VOGUE representative
* Israel Arredondo, photographer

## Summaries

### **Call-out order**

* 1 Chae Won was medically evacuated during the photoshoot and did not have a place in the call-out.

### **Challenge guide**

* Episode 1: Runway, Test shots for ENA PRINCE
* Episode 2: Mock campaigns for Vuori with male models
* Episode 3: Beauty campaigns, Styling with FIDM students
* Episode 4: Scheduled casting calls in groups
* Episode 5: Go-sees
* Episode 6: Budapest Fashion Week
* Episode 7: Self-directed YouTube videos

### **Photoshoot guide**

* Episode 1: Swimwear in groups
* Episode 2: Street dancers
* Episode 3: Hollywood giants
* Episode 4: Desert rulers
* Episode 5: Standing out in a nightclub
* Episode 6: Royalty beauty shoot
* Episode 7: Modern dystopia, Zara campaigns
* Episode 8: VOGUE covers, Maybellline ads

### **Persona guide**

Each contestant was given a representative "persona" from the early 2000s based on their own personalities and backstories.

### **Makeover guide**

* **Annika Sc.** – bangs
* **Annika St.** – dyed dark red
* **Arabella** – dyed black, blunt bob with bangs
* **Betty** – thickening hair treatment, eyebrows reshaped
* **Chae Won** – dyed burgundy
* **Dot** – no makeover
* **Efemena** – afro curls
* **Heidi** – bleached hair and eyebrows
* **Ingibjörg** – dyed bright red
* **Melek** – wolf cut