Bob Shemeligian: Why don’t they want models with Vegas look?

Thursday, April 18, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

ARE YOU a young woman with the LA look?

Well, then you better get your high heels clicking over to the Vons store on Windmill Parkway in Henderson on the afternoon of May 11.

No, the supermarket is not having a sale on bleach.

Representatives of L.A. LOOKS hair-care line and L.A. Models, the largest modeling agency on the West Coast, will be at Vons looking for a "hot new supermodel who has the LA look."

And what is the LA look?

"We're just looking for a young woman with a great personality and a lot of energy and who has her own style," said Leah Gross, who represents the hair-care line and the modeling agency.

I pressed Leah for a little more information about the LA look.

After all, energy and personality will help you go places if your name is Michael Ovitz, but if your name is Crawford, Schiffer or Taylor, you better have perfect hair and a more perfect smile.

And that's if you happen to be an ordinary, everyday supermodel from Anywhere, USA.

If you have the LA look, one would imagine that you must carry yourself stylishly and elegantly, even when walking in front of a burning building.

Again I asked about the "look."

"It's not a matter of being blonde or brunette," Gross said. "We're looking for a young woman with her own personality. Looks are one thing, but we're also looking at ambition, drive and dedication."

So, there you have it.

To all local young women who think they have the LA look, good luck. You'll be competing against women from supermarkets across the nation.

After the preliminary national search, 10 finalists will be flown to Universal Studios Hollywood for the final competition.

The winner, to be named in June, will be featured in a L.A. LOOKS print ad and receive a two-year, $100,000 modeling contract with L.A. Models.

Last year, Kristen Davis, a 16-year-old from Kentucky won the contest and the contract.

If the "LA Looks" contests really catches on, who knows? Perhaps it will lead to other contests featuring women with looks that capture the mood of other U.S. cities:

* A group of young women vying for the Washington, D.C., look would wear Hillary hairstyles and would refuse to answer personal questions about their lives unless under oath.

* In almost any city in Montana, women trying to capture -- make that preserve -- the survivalist look would wear khakis, camouflage jackets and boots, and carry automatic weapons.

* And in this city, young models seeking the Vegas look would spend hours in thrift stores searching for the perfect pair of leopard-skin spandex pants and the gaudiest sequined top imaginable -- to go with their white hair and heavy black eye makeup.

(For contest information, call 1-800-LOOKS96.)