I took Nadia and Ocean to the “Asian Model Competition: Face of Uzbekistan – 2024” model and fashion show on Saturday evening. It was our first time attending a fashion show and it was delightful to be on the front row near the end of the runway. It was a combination fashion show and a reality TV modeling competition. Three of the 24 models (12 male and 12 female) were selected to represent Uzbekistan in the October final competition in Seoul, Korea. The event is sponsored by UzNex (Uzbek crypto currency) and it was led by the Korean Modeling Association. Similar events are taking place in 41 countries all over Asia to select models to participate in the October finals in Seoul.
A highlight for me was the performance of Uzbek recording artist Munisa Rizayeva. She is very well-known musician and is popular in Uzbekistan. She gets about 17,000 monthly plays on Spotify, which is not a lot but I think that more reflects the lack of Central Asians that subscribe to Spotify than her popularity. Musicians and actors have a certain charisma/showmanship/presence and she certainly had oodles of it. She has a booming voice and the music had a rock vibe. I added a couple of her songs to my Spotify playlists.
One of the contestants during the interview section said “modeling is my passion”and it got me thinking. It is a frivolous activity and I thought the young people looked silly after going to NN Model training. I guess it is better practicing being a model rather than playing video games and scrolling through TikTok. The two main winners of the competition I thought were good choices. They both had the classic Central Asian Uzbek facial features and the girl had naturally curly hair, a rarity in Asia. I wish them luck in the finals.
Nadia and Ocean really enjoyed the event and I am glad I am a member of the American Chamber of Commerce and received an invitation. It was enjoyable to see my two models have a fun evening.
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