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Leah Nacion of Waipahu has been named one of 30 finalists in the Wilhelmina/Mode Model Search. Contest a fluke, but
winning’s a plusThe 20-year-old, who is a skin care and makeup specialist at Paul Brown Salons in Waikele, entered the search for plus-size models when her friend refused to do it alone. It was a first for her and she was surprised to be chosen.
The Wilhelmina/Mode Model Search, sponsored by Wilhelmina Models and Mode Magazine, is open to women size 10 and up from the United States and Canada. Wilhelmina Models has a division specializing in full-figured talent. And Mode aims to address the fashion interests of the full-figured audience.
Nacion flies to New York this weekend to compete for one of five modeling contracts and more than $250,000 in prizes.
Nacion has mixed feelings about winning, she said being a model has never been among her dreams. "I'm just having fun with it," she said, adding she is happy just to have won a free trip to New York.
Though Nacion's husband, Florante, was born and raised in Hawaii, the two met in New York and still have friends there.
When she is not working, Nacion, a Jehovah's Witness, promotes Bible education and volunteers with the American Cancer Society's "Look Better, Feel Better" program. The program, which is affiliated with Paul Brown, is part of a camp for children who have cancer. Volunteers go to the camp and work on hair, make-up, etc., with an eye toward lifting the spirits of the keiki. Having lost her grandmother to cancer, the work is dear to Nacion's heart. "It became a personal thing for me," she said.
Nacion had intended to keep her preliminary victory low-key, telling only her manager and family, but she said word seemed to be getting around.
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