As it stands, all 8 finalists are winners already. Chanel Croswell, Melody Federer, Amanda Kerlin, Heeda McAuley, Ashton Mozingo, Caitlin Palko, Katrina Shaulskiy and Alyson Thomas are getting an all-expense paid trip to New York to participate at the Chanel runway fashion show on Wednesday, May 21, 2003.

All of them will be featured in the September issue of Seventeen magazine and have been automatically entered in the Ford Supermodel of the World Contest which awards its winner with a $250,000 Ford contract.

Chanel and Seventeen magazine made the initial call for entries last February wherein they received over 15,000 entries. Now on its sixth year, Chanel Model of the Year Contest has been a true launch pad for fresh faces in the modeling world.

Chanel, the House that Coco built is one of the world's preeminent fashion, fragrance and beaute houses today. The Chanel Model of the Year Contest is only one of its vehicles in launching 'faces' that have rocked the world of fashion.

Through its world wide advertising campaigns, 'faces' become famous, and sometimes, even iconic.

When Stella Tennant and Stella Warren became the 'face' for Chanel No. 5, they became one of the most recognized faces in the modeling world.

Karen Elson went for a photo shoot with Karl Lagerfeld (current Chanel designer), and she became a star model.

During the Paris fashion season, tickets to the Chanel Haute Couture and Ready-To-Wear Shows are coveted both by the fashion press and the jet-setting fashionistas.

The grand prizewinner of the 2003 Model of the Year Contest will jet to Paris, France, for a five-day trip for two just in time for the Paris Pręt-ŕ-Porter season.

The trip includes tickets to the 2004 CHANEL Ready-to-Wear fashion show featuring the world's top supermodels.

The winner will also appear in five issues of Seventeen for CHANEL and win a $1,000 shopping spree, plus a 6-month Ford modeling contract.

"The CHANEL New Model of the Year contest gives aspiring young models an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at one of the most exciting industries in the world," said Jean Hoehn Zimmerman, Executive Vice President, CHANEL Sales and Marketing.

"Over the past five years, this contest has been a wonderful experience for all involved, including discovering great young talent. Our relationship with Seventeen has afforded us the opportunity to turn readers into sophisticated conveyors of CHANEL beauty and style," added Ms. Zimmerman.

The 2003 CHANEL New Model of The Year grand prizewinner will be chosen over the summer and will be announced in the September issue of Seventeen magazine.

Katrina Shaulskiy, 17, of Portland, OR

Melody Federer, 15 of St. Louis, MO