Ousted 'Top Model' finalist Lulu Braithwaite: I still stand by my walk

Lulu Braithwaite's signature runway walk failed to impress, however she has no plans of doing anything differently.


"No, I'm not changing my walk," Braithwaite told reporters during a Thursday conference call.

The 19-year-old 5'7" student from Brooklyn, NY became the fourth finalist eliminated from America's Next Top Model's thirteenth season during Wednesday night's broadcast of The CW reality series.

Braithwaite said she developed her signature runway walk when she was 17-year-old and did a local Brooklyn fashion show.

"When I went to tryout for the fashion show, [the organizer] hated my walk," Braithwaite told reporters.


"So he walked for me.  He's kind of like the Ms. J. in Brooklyn.  He walked for me and then I just kind of like stole some of the things that I saw from his walk.  When I walked for him again he actually liked it, and I just kept it."

However Braithwaite's walk didn't go over so well during a reward challenge in Wednesday night's episode, as she was criticized for not having enough excitement.  While she refuses to make any changes, she knows the comments were meant to help.

"I understood why I didn't win after they said what they said.  So I wasn't upset," she said.

In addition, Braithwaite was criticized by Top Model creator and lead judge Tyra Banks for making the wrong faces during photo shoots, and she explained that she has since taken a new approach when she's being photographed.

"Now when I'm taking photographs, I think of what the photographer wants, I think of what Tyra may want, and I think of what feels good to me," she said.  "I play with those three things and hope for a good shot."


While Braithwaite said she felt she was portrayed "pretty well" on the show, she added she and Ashley Howard were not the only finalists having constant conversations in which they criticized the modeling techniques of the other girls.

"We all talked about each other," Braithwaite told reporters.  "They just showed us doing it more than they showed anybody else.  But they all did the same things."

While she was the fourth girl eliminated, Braithwaite apparently made it pretty far since she doesn't have much previous modeling experience.

"I did nothing serious. I did a few fashion shows for my friends that wanted to design clothing.  Then I had another friend who wanted to be a photographer, so he just took a bunch of pictures of me one day," she explained.  "I did them only for fun, nothing serious."

However participating in Top Model helped her be bitten by the modeling bug, and she now plans to pursue a career in it.


"I'm going to pursue modeling like I never thought I could before," she said.  "Now that I know that there's chances out there for 5'7" and under girls, I'm just going to go into everything with an open mind."






About The Author: Christopher Rocchio