Ma Yanli, one of China's first generation of supermodels, is considered a beauty according to Chinese standard. She's now retired from the catwalk and has her own label, Mary Ma.

"It (a small head) is a must," she says. "As a matter of fact, you don't necessarily have to have perfect facial features because there are always makeup tricks."

Some models look quite ordinary but they can be transformed by makeup into another person, stunningly stylish, coy, vampish or whatever is needed.

But you can't change the size of your head, or the length of your legs.

Professor Wang Yiqun from Shanghai Donghua University has been teaching modeling since 1991. According to her, what the general public likes can be quite different from what the professionals prefer.

"I think the general public still prefers cute, healthy girls with a fair, round face," she says. "In fact, people with a 'palm face' would look quite weird in real life. The same is true if they are too skinny."

Different clients have different requirements, adds Cai from ESEE Model Managements.

Some brands, especially those for casual wear and sports brands, prefer to use models who look sweet, cute and are not too skinny, especially for runway shows and events in public places, such as streets or shopping malls.

Elite Model Look

The China final of Elite Model Look 2009 will be held on September 13 and - for the first time - in Paris. The competition was launched nationwide earlier this month.

All the contestants will be trained by professionals and fashion designers in Milan and Paris before the final.

They will also be featured in a fashion show at the Louvre Museum, according to Tian Ming, a director at Shanghai Dragon TV, an organizer of the competition.

The champion will represent China in the world final at the Beauty Crown Hotel in Sanya, Hainan Province.

Seventy contestants from more than 60 countries are expected to take part on October 6.

Elite Model Look is a global campaign by France-based Elite, one of the world's leading model agencies, to discover fresh new faces. Every year, more than 350,000 young women from all over the world enter the competition. Top models selected from past contests include Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell and Gisele Bundchen.

Since its debut in 1995, the Elite Model Look contest in China has helped launch the careers of top Chinese models such as Xie Dongna, Wang Wenqin, Shi Zhouliang, and most recently, Sun Feifei.

The competition is no stranger to Shanghai people as the city has held its world finals in both 2004 and 2005.

(Shanghai Daily June 12, 2009)