As for what exactly they're looking for, Richard Habberley of DNA Model Management puts it eloquently: "The best models to me are a dichotomy — they are both unique and untouchable, but relatable, all at the same time; totally now, but a shimmer of the past, and a glimpse of the future; the chimera that lives next door to you." But, to keep it real, several of the industry's top models — all of whom are judges in the search — provided Refinery29 with their exclusive take on what the competition means and what a model, today, should stand for. Thanks to the industry's ever-evolving perspective on just what the career of a model looks like, any preconceived notions of said vocation being short-lived, not worth the money, and only for the young and beautiful (and white) are long gone. And the working environment for models is improving by the day.