From Miss Nikkey to modeling agencies: former contestants who became models in Japan

Since its first edition, in Komaki in 2002, Miss Nikkey Japan has brought new talent to the Japanese market, especially among contestants interested in a career as a professional print and runway model.

Producer Daniela Nishikawa says, however, that the event’s main goal is not to discover talent and launch it into the fashion industry. That, she says, is what modeling agency scouts are for.

Even so, Daniela is pleased to say that, year after year, several young Brazilian women have gone on to professional modeling careers in Japan after taking part in the pageant, regardless of how they placed.

Agencies in the audience

That happened because Miss Nikkey Japan always welcomed guests from a wide range of fields, among them representatives of modeling agencies, who used the event to discover new talent.

In 2010, the pageant’s own organizers launched the Miss Nikkey Models Agency, devoted to representing print and runway models, at the EPEX trade show in Tokyo.

Careers after the pageant

These are some of the former contestants who landed professional work as print and runway models after taking part in the pageant:

• Suzy Shimada: named Princess at Miss Nikkey Japan, she was signed soon afterward by a Tokyo agency and did several professional jobs as a model for Urban Agency, among others.

• Monalisa Matsui: named Miss Photogenic, she also signed with a modeling agency right after taking part in Miss Nikkey Japan.

• Daniele Cáceres: voted Most Photogenic at Miss Nikkey Japan, she caught the attention of representatives of the Elite Models agency, in Nagoya, which signed her. She did a series of fashion editorials and appeared on the covers of Japanese magazines, among other work.

• Vanessa Akiyama: crowned Miss Nikkey, she made several contacts through the event and did professional modeling work. She was a special guest at the Japan Festival in São Paulo.

• Yanna Lavigne Inagaki: crowned Miss Nikkey Japan, she came into contact with the Adesso agency, in Tokyo, through the pageant. She was signed and moved to the city with her family, where she began working professionally. Before signing, she did advertising work for a local magazine with other contestants from the fifth Miss Nikkey.

• Priscila Matsumoto: competed in Miss Nikkey Japan and, while still at the show in Komaki, was invited to audition at the Elite Models agency. She was signed and began working professionally through the agency.

• Stéfani Matsumoto: a Miss Nikkey Japan contestant, she was also signed by the Elite Models agency after the pageant.

• Roberta Inazumi: crowned Miss Nikkey Japan, she was signed by the Elite Models agency right after competing in the pageant.