MANILA, Philippines - Being a runner-up is not a bad thing at all. Allison Harvard, a runner-up in America’s Next Top Model cycles 12 and 17, is enjoying a rosier life after the competition. The 26-year-old model has been in the Philippines for nine months now to attend to various projects that landed on her lap one after another.
Allison first set foot on local shores when Michael Carandang whom she had worked with in the US for America’s Next Top Model invited her to do a modeling stint for the fashion campaign of Dubai-based Filipino designer Michael Cinco for Bench. “I was in New York when Mike asked me to model for Michael Cinco (designs) and that was the first time that I was brought here. Since then, I just keep coming back for work.”
Allison also became the face of Cinco’s latest fragrance Impalpable. She, too, did hosting chores for Mega Fashion Crew: Reloaded on etc and appeared on TV5’s dance competition Celebrity Dance Battle as one of the judges. It was last year when she made her acting debut via the indie film Insensate which was released on iTunes. “I just ended up kind of rooting myself here. I’ve made a lot of friends and they are the nicest people I have ever worked with.”
Recently, Allison got another task on her shoulders. Bioessence signed her up as its latest brand endorser. According to Bioessence top honcho Dr. Emma Guerrero, Allison is perfect for the beauty and wellness clinic’s goal to be recognized as a global brand.
“Allison is like what we want Bioessence to be,” says Bioessence exec Joseph Feliciano. “Allison is a global icon. She’s known worldwide and that’s what we want to be — to be a global brand in the future.”
Allison, in turn, said, “I tried a lot of spas and Bioessence is by far my favorite. It’s really important to have time to relax and be pampered, especially after doing a lot of work. That’s why it’s so super special and super fun to be part of this. Bioessence’s treatments are amazing, especially the oxygen facial which is my favorite.”
For those not so familiar with her, Allison was a fan favorite during her stint on America’s Next Top Model. She grew up in Spring, Texas and went to college at Louisiana State University.
“I’ve always been really interested in photography and art in general and so it’s kind of a dream to be able to do modeling because it’s the best of both worlds married together; you get to do a bit of both. I started modeling around 19 and that was when I came on America’s Next Top Model and then after that I went back to college and started to model again when I moved to New York. I think that kind of how the rest of the journey snowballed with people that I met which eventually brought me here.”
Asked how much she is enjoying her stay here, Allison replied, “I love it so much — the people, the environment. The workplace has been really comfortable for me and so I love to stay here as long as I keep on working.”
With Arnold Vegafria of ALV Talent Circuit as her manager, Allison revealed that there are more projects coming out in the days to come. “We’ll get to talk about them as soon as he gets back from Hong Kong.”
In the meantime, Allison is bent on learning to be fluent in Filipino with the help of a tutor.