The eighteenth season of Germany's Next Topmodel aired on German television network ProSieben from 16 February to 15 June 2023.
As in the last preceding years, this season featured a preselection without open castings. The first episode introduced 29 finalists, and six wildcard contestants were later added to the cast, bringing the total cast to 35. This is also the last season to ever have an all-female cast, before including male contestants, starting with the following season.
The winner of this season was 22-year-old Vivien Blotzki from Münstermaifeld who is notably the first plus size model to win Germany's Next Topmodel. Her prizes include: A cover and spread in the German edition of Harper's Bazaar. A cash prize worth €100,000. An advertising campaign with MAC Cosmetics.
The international destinations of this season were set in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Ibiza.
Contestants Ages stated are as of the beginning of the contest
Contestant AgeHeightHometownFinishPlaceAlina Enns20OberdingEpisode 135-32Elisaveta 'Elisabeth' Schmidt 21GrasbrunnIndira Mölle20Niedere BördeAna Feddersen 22OstroheSlata Schneider19LeipzigEpisode 331-30Melissa Stöbke Carbonel19DüsseldorfMelina Rath18Linz, Austria29-28Juliette Schulz19Bad SobernheimEmilia Steitz19Kelkheim im TaunusEpisode 427-25Elizabeth 'Eliz' Steingraf21MünchenZoey Saflekou26KornwestheimSarah Benkhoff20OsnabrückEpisode 524 (quit)Tracy Baumgarten 25Essen23 (quit)Jenita 'Jülide' Beganovic23PaderbornEpisode 622Elsa Latifaj19Baden, Austria21Lara Rollhaus 19Aschbach, AustriaEpisode 720Zuzel Palacio Calunga50KissingEpisode 819-18Charlene Christian52GeorgensgmündLeona Kastrati19Großheubach17Ina Aufenberg44NeussEpisode 916Anya Elsner19Berlin Episode 1015Anna Celina 'Cassy' Cassau23HamburgEpisode 1114-13Marielena Aponte52FrankfurtMaike Nitsch23HanauEpisode 1212Nina Kablitz22Wetter (Ruhr) Episode 1311Mirella Janev20BerlinEpisode 1410Katherine Markov20FlensburgEpisode 159Frideriki 'Ida' Kulis23Köln Episode 168-7Anna-Maria Fuhrmann24BochumCoco Clever20MünchenEpisode 176Nicole Reitbauer49Offenbach am MainEpisode 185Selma Schröder19Berlin4Olivia Hounkpati22Hamburg3Somajia Ali21Bielefeld2Vivien Blotzki22Münstermaifeld1
Episode summaries
Summaries
Results table Place Model Episodes 12345678 91011121314151617181VivienSAFELOWSAFESAFESAFESAFESAFELOWSAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFELOWSAFELOWLOWWIN 2SomajiaSAFELOWSAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFELOWSAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFEOUT3OliviaSAFELOWSAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFELOWLOWSAFESAFESAFESAFESAFEOUT4SelmaSAFELOWSAFESAFELOWSAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFELOWLOWSAFESAFESAFEOUT5NicoleLOWSAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFELOWSAFEOUT 6CocoSAFEIMMSAFESAFELOWLOWLOWSAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFEOUT7-8SAFEIMMSAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFELOWSAFESAFESAFESAFESAFEOUTIdaSAFEIMMSAFESAFESAFESAFESAFELOWSAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFEOUT9Katherine SAFEIMMSAFESAFELOWSAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFELOWOUT10MirellaSAFELOWSAFESAFESAFESAFESAFELOWLOWLOWSAFESAFESAFEOUT11NinaSAFELOWSAFESAFESAFESAFESAFELOWSAFESAFESAFESAFEOUT12MaikeSAFESAFESAFELOWOUT13-14CassySAFELOWSAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFEOUTMarielenaSAFESAFESAFEOUT15AnyaSAFEIMMSAFESAFELOWSAFESAFESAFELOWOUT16InaSAFEOUT17LeonaSAFEIMMSAFESAFESAFESAFESAFEOUT18-19CharleneOUT ZuzelOUT 20LaraSAFELOWSAFESAFESAFESAFEOUT 21ElsaSAFELOWSAFESAFELOWOUT 22JülideSAFEIMMSAFESAFELOWOUT 23TracySAFEIMMSAFESAFEQUIT24SarahSAFEIMMSAFESAFEQUIT 25-27ElizSAFELOWSAFEOUT EmiliaSAFEIMMSAFEOUT ZoeySAFEIMMSAFEOUT 28-29JulietteSAFEIMMOUT MelinaSAFELOWOUT MelissaSAFELOWOUT SlataSAFELOWOUT AlinaOUT AnaOUT ElisabethOUT IndiraOUT
The contestant won best performance The contestant was immune from elimination The contestant withdrew from the competition The contestant was absent from panel but was declared safe The contestant was eliminated The contestant was eliminated outside of judging panel The contestant was in danger of elimination The contestant won the competition
Photo shoot guide Episode 2 photo shoot: Styling beachwear in pairs Episode 3 video shoot: One-take self introduction videos Episode 4 photo shoot: Mad Hatter from Alice In Wonderland Episode 6 photo shoot: Sedcard Episode 7 video shoot: Marilyn Monroe as Lorelei Lee from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes with the Elevator Boys Episode 8 photo shoots: Black and White test shots; Sedcard Episode 9 photo shoot: Posing in a giant toy machine for Skechers Episode 12 photo shoot: Portraying legendary songs of past decades in groups Episode 13 photo shoot: Rich girls in a luxurious penthouse Episode 14 photo shoot: Posing in the desert with colorful balls and fabric Episode 15 photo shoot: Underwater prisoners in the streets of Las Vegas Episode 16 photo shoot: Harper's Bazaar cover Episode 17 photo shoots: Cirque du Soleil on a trapeze; MAC Squirt Plumping Gloss Stick campaign Episode 18 video shoot: Re-enacting a scene from No Hard Feelings with Marcus Schenkenberg
Controversies In February 2023, at the beginning of the 18th season, Heidi Klum gave a 10-minute speech in which she denied all allegations against her and the show and blamed the candidates themselves. This was once again heavily criticized by both the viewers and the media across Germany. The Berliner Morgenpost wrote: "Everything is wrong, says Klum. She emphasized that 'everything is real' on her show. There is no text or storyline for the models. That's why it's not her fault if a young model feels misrepresented after the broadcast. 'We can only portray a person as they are,' philosophizes Klum. Whether this is true remains questionable. On the one hand, because a story can be cobbled together afterwards that doesn't have to have anything to do with reality. On the other hand, because in the show very young girls in absolutely exceptional and stressful situations meet experienced editors who know exactly what the viewers later want to see on television." Die Welt called Heidi Klum's statement "bizarre". Frankfurter Allgemeine called it a "Catwalk of Shame". Web.de headlined: "Why Heidi Klum's statement is dishonest". Annabelle (magazine) (Switzerland) headlined: "Heidi Klum, this justification went wrong". In an article, Puls24 (Austria) asked whether Heidi Klum practiced perpetrator-victim reversal and Gaslighting. Frankfurter Allgemeine headlined: "This woman only has dollar signs in her eyes" and also assumed that Heidi Klum was doing a perpetrator-victim reversal. BILD asked: "How evil is Heidi Klum really?".
In April 2023, Heidi Klum said about everything that happens at Germany's Next Topmodel: "At the end of the day I'm the boss and I make the rules!"
In April 2023, former contestant Lijana Kaggwa (from season 14) criticized the way broadcaster Pro7, the production company, and Heidi Klum dealt with contestant Anya Elsner. She was presented in an exaggeratedly negative and very one-sided negative way in season 18 and subsequently received countless hateful comments on the Internet. Even some tabloid media such as Focus (German magazine),https://www.focus.de/kultur/kino_tv/gntm-pannen-geburtstagskind-anya-ist-um-keine-ausrede-verlegen_id_189781502.html Berliner Kurier or DASDING spread the hate and cyberbullying about the young contestant in a low-level and anti-social way. Lijana Kaggwa criticized the fact that Germany's Next Topmodel repeatedly produced cyberbullying and hatred by misrepresenting a young contestant and takes the risk of destroying a young woman's life for ratings. A month earlier, viewers were horrified by the bullying of other season 18 contestants towards Anya Elsner.
In April 2023, founder and CEO of one of the largest modeling agencies in Europe, MGM Models, Marco Sinervo, said that not a single one of the contestants from the 18th season has any chance as a model. He also said that Germany's Next Topmodel is shameful for the entire fashion industry.
In May 2023, ninth placer Katherine Markov said that she was misrepresented on Germany's Next Topmodel. She is nowhere near as religious as shown on the show.
Also in May 2023, 10th placer Mirella Janev said about Germany's Next Topmodel, that the show is not about modeling, but about cringe walks and shock value to get the ratings. "I don't know if it's because the viewership has lost its level or the production itself and to what extent that is mutually dependent, but I have the feeling that simply watching 'Germany's Next Top Model' over the time, the show has lost respect.", Janev added. In addition, she continued, if the contestants quarreled, the production would also fuel them.
In June 2023, Berliner Zeitung headlined: "The finale of Germany's Next Topmodel is the most embarrassing show on German TV."
References
External links Official Website