Germany's Next Topmodel season 18
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.
Contestants
Ages stated are as of the beginning of the contest| Contestant | Age | Height | Hometown | Finish | Place |
| Alina Enns | 20 | Oberding | Episode 1 | 35-32 | |
| Elisaveta 'Elisabeth' Schmidt | 21 | Grasbrunn | Episode 1 | 35-32 | |
| Indira Mölle | 20 | Niedere Börde | Episode 1 | 35-32 | |
| Ana Feddersen | 22 | Ostrohe | Episode 1 | 35-32 | |
| Slata Schneider | 19 | Leipzig | Episode 3 | 31-30 | |
| Melissa Stöbke Carbonel | 19 | Düsseldorf | Episode 3 | 31-30 | |
| Melina Rath | 18 | Linz, Austria | Episode 3 | 29-28 | |
| Juliette Schulz | 19 | Bad Sobernheim | Episode 3 | 29-28 | |
| Emilia Steitz | 19 | Kelkheim im Taunus | Episode 4 | 27-25 | |
| Elizabeth 'Eliz' Steingraf | 21 | München | Episode 4 | 27-25 | |
| Zoey Saflekou | 26 | Kornwestheim | Episode 4 | 27-25 | |
| Sarah Benkhoff | 20 | Osnabrück | Episode 5 | 24 | |
| Tracy Baumgarten | 25 | Essen | Episode 5 | 23 | |
| Jenita 'Jülide' Beganovic | 23 | Paderborn | Episode 6 | 22 | |
| Elsa Latifaj | 19 | Baden, Austria | Episode 6 | 21 | |
| Lara Rollhaus | 19 | Aschbach, Austria | Episode 7 | 20 | |
| Zuzel Palacio Calunga | 50 | Kissing | Episode 8 | 19-18 | |
| Charlene Christian | 52 | Georgensgmünd | Episode 8 | 19-18 | |
| Leona Kastrati | 19 | Großheubach | Episode 8 | 17 | |
| Ina Aufenberg | 44 | Neuss | Episode 9 | 16 | |
| Anya Elsner | 19 | Berlin | Episode 10 | 15 | |
| Anna Celina 'Cassy' Cassau | 23 | Hamburg | Episode 11 | 14-13 | |
| Marielena Aponte | 52 | Frankfurt | Episode 11 | 14-13 | |
| Maike Nitsch | 23 | Hanau | Episode 12 | 12 | |
| Nina Kablitz | 22 | Wetter (Ruhr) | Episode 13 | 11 | |
| Mirella Janev | 20 | Berlin | Episode 14 | 10 | |
| Katherine Markov | 20 | Flensburg | Episode 15 | 9 | |
| Frideriki 'Ida' Kulis | 23 | Köln | Episode 16 | 8-7 | |
| Anna-Maria Fuhrmann | 24 | Bochum | Episode 16 | 8-7 | |
| Coco Clever | 20 | München | Episode 17 | 6 | |
| Nicole Reitbauer | 49 | Offenbach am Main | Episode 18 | 5 | |
| Selma Schröder | 19 | Berlin | Episode 18 | 4 | |
| Olivia Hounkpati | 22 | Hamburg | Episode 18 | 3 | |
| Somajia Ali | 21 | Bielefeld | Episode 18 | 2 | |
| Vivien Blotzki | 22 | Münstermaifeld | Episode 18 | 1 |
Summaries
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) headlined: "Heidi Klum, this justification went wrong". In an article, Puls24 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 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), 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."