Ford Models ended its 39-country model crawl in search of a gorgeous new face for their agency by having all judges unanimously vote on Yekaterina Domankova, a 5-foot-10 17-year-old high school senior from Belarus, as the winner of their 25th annual Super Model of the World contest. It was night in New York and early morning in Minsk, where Domankova’s parents were waiting for the call. She called them the first thing after the brilliant victory “Mom, I won!”
The student of a Minsk polytechnic college will take home a $250,000 contract, which she will have to carry out within three years on the best catwalks of the world.
Her life changed overnight. Katya’s mother told us her daughter “had different plans for the future.” She was going to enter Belarusian State University right after school. Domankova is a good student, with an average of 8.5 out of 10, she speaks excellent English. But life decided otherwise.
The turning point in Katya’s life took place two years ago, when Sergey Nagorny, the director of one of the largest model agencies of the country, came up to her in Maxi-Biss cafй and gave her his card. She was not eager to take up modeling, and Nagorny was not the first to offer her a modeling career. She showed the card at home, though, and her parents decided to allow their daughter to go to Nagorny’s school. It took Katya just a year to turn into a real model and get a bunch of invitations to work in London and Paris… In Europe she fascinated Ford Models specialists, who invited her to take part in the Super Model of the World contest. You know the rest.
— Sergey Nagorny’s professionalism helped me choose my way in life,” Katya says. — Modeling appeals to me because of the opportunity to travel around the world and meet new interesting people.
Katya will soon get back to Minsk to continue her studies in college.
The rating of Belarusian beauties keeps rising. Katya Khlebanova, another Nagorny’s graduate, has been in the top-50 of the world model list. Lyudmila Bahkmet, who was trained in the Tamara agency, in Minsk, is having a successful career in New York. Slim charming beauties from Belarus mesmerize the kings and queens of the fashion empire.
Anna Petrova
Steep Turn
17-year-old Katya Domankova from Minsk is big winner of 25th annual Super Model of the World contest