Tran Thi Huong Giang, second runner-up of this year’s Miss Vietnam Global Pageant

A charismatic young model casts off her reservations because vibrancy, not coyness, wins beauty contests.

The twenty-two-year-old began her career relying on her looks and the modesty that came most naturally to her. But she soon realized she needed something more to be a real success. It wasn’t until she broke out of her shell and presented herself as a more vivacious young woman that she became a beauty queen at Miss Global Vietnam in Las Vegas last month.

Giang was named the second runner-up of the competition, in which women of Vietnamese descent came from around the world to compete. She also took home the Miss Ao dai (Vietnamese traditional tunic) and Miss Photogenic honors at the event.

She was elated by the success.

“The award marks my maturity and opens up a new period in my life filled with new opportunities,” Giang said.

Giang had previously pinned her high hopes on beauty pageants like Miss Asia 2007, but was disappointed when she returned home empty-handed.

But this time around, she says she didn’t rely on just luck, but instead was able to build on her previous experiences to fashion herself as a more complete and well-rounded contestant.

She said reserved girls are not what beauty contest judges look for.

“Previously I was quite inexperienced and didn’t know what the contests’ judging panel expected in the competitors. This time was different,” she said. “This pageant aimed to crow fresh-looking, confident, dynamic girls.”

And that’s exactly what Giang was prepared to give them.

Giang said her height, 1.8 meters, did give her an advantage, but she felt that her confidence, intellect and charisma were really what won the prize. She knew that humility was not what wins beauty contests, so she showed off a bit more.

‘I’ve learned a lot’

Giang says that Vietnamese models often lack magnetism and confidence and are unable to express themselves as well as foreign competitors. She said that while they are just as beautiful, these characteristics make it much harder for them to win big international competitions.

“Foreign beauties are more dynamic and boisterous,” she said. “I think the difference is mostly due to culture and how we were raised. I’m no exception: I am not dynamic and confident enough. But I’ve learned a lot from the Miss Global pageant. It’s made me look back at myself and know that I still need to change,” the young model said.

She now leaves her quiet demure self at home and shows her more colorful and energetic side onstage.

“After more than two years on the catwalk, I realized I’d been a little bit too quiet and more serious than a girl my age should be,” she said. “But big changes are on the horizon, I’ll build my new image as a friendly, fresh young woman full of life and energy.”

Irresistible

Giang first began modeling in 2006 as a way to pay for her university tuition.

She was taking media studies courses at Ho Chi Minh City’s University of Social Sciences and Humanities with dreams of a media career when she won the local Miss Hai Duong beauty contest.

Her modeling work then took off and she signed a contract with PL Co., one of the Vietnam’s most prominent modeling agencies. She then had to put school on hold.

Giang said she had thought about quitting modeling several times while in school.

“But the attraction of art is irresistible.”

She now loves the career, she said. “I’ll stay committed to it as long as it accepts me.”

The good girl

But committing to a modeling career is committing to a life in the spotlight and all the risks that fame brings. Giang says she’s ready to meet the challenges.

She’s so far steered clear of the kinds of sex and money scandals that have ruined so many of her counterparts. She even said she’ll never model or perform in bikinis and lingerie. She said she’ll never work at bars or do love-making scenes if she ever acts in a film.

“Maybe I’m a bit too strict with myself,” she said. “I do regret the opportunities I don’t take, but I can’t work well if I don’t feel comfortable.”

Her career is not about showing skin, she said.

“Many think models must be sexy. They are right. Women must be sexy, but sexiness doesn’t necessarily mean showing your body or running around scantily clad,” she said. “Women’s sexiness is boundless. It can be noticed through gestures and performing styles.”

She shrugs off those who say she’s too conservative.

“I’d rather take it slow and steady. Then I’m really at peace with myself,” she said.

“Everyone has their own style.”

Reported by Thu Thuy