America's Next Top Model crowned its first-ever All Star on Wednesday night when Lisa D'Amato took home the prizes over Allison Harvard. However, runner-up Allison - who also finished in second place on the 12th cycle of America's Next Top Model - more than proved her star power throughout the season, wowing the judges with gorgeous photos, winning challenges and even getting The Game's praise for her original music video.
Digital Spy spoke to Allison today about her time on America's Next Top Model and her plans for the future:
Congratulations on your finish! How are you feeling?
"It always feels strange to watch the last episode - it was definitely strange on cycle 12. I feel pretty good about it, it's been a long journey."
There really couldn't have been two more different girls in the finale. How were you feeling going into the final panel?
"You pretty much said it! It's sad not to win - again! - but it was such a great journey and I spent a lot of time with Lisa when I went and visited Hollywood. She has a good heart and she is a good person. We are so different which makes it so unpredictable in that sense. They picked Lisa over me but it's not like we are two very similar girls and it was one small detail one girl has over the other, so if they wanted Lisa then they did want something completely different than me, and that's just how it is sometimes."
You were voted fan favorite in the very first episode and clearly have a huge fan base. Does that soften the blow?
"It feels so weird to say the word fan. People are so supportive of me and the fans from the show are some of the sweetest people in the whole world. The emails I get are so flattering and mind-blowing. I almost feel I don't deserve so much kindness. It is something that I'm forever grateful for, it's very special and very hard to believe. I wish I could say thank you to each and every person because it's very sweet of them."
Why did you decide to compete on All Stars and did you get what you wanted out of the experience?
"I love to wake up every day and be like, 'God, my life is so weird'. While we were filming and even post-show I feel very grateful and special to be given an opportunity like this again. Would I do it again? No (laughs). I feel like there is so much more to experience in the world, although I'm so happy I did cycle 17. It was wonderful. I made some really good friends and got to go to Greece. It's such a funny and strange world that it's fun to participate in it for that little bit of time in your life, so I'm grateful for it."
It seemed at times like you stayed in the background a bit when all the girls were together. Was that the case or was it more about editing?
"So much injustice! I am shy and socially inept sometimes but I warm up. I'm definitely a warming up person and I'm so goofy and the most uncool person you'll ever meet. I'm really clumsy and unorganized and I love to laugh. Me, Angelea, Laura, Isis, Bianca and Bre would just die laughing at things. We had so many jokes and I was so bummed they didn't show as much as I felt they could have.
"I understand it can't be like, 'It's the Allison Show!' but it would have been fun to see all of the goofy and fun and silly things that went on with all the girls. We had some really fun times. I wasn't completely hiding in the corner and crying by myself! We entertained ourselves and I just wish we could have seen more."
You said you had vampire vision at one stage and so many people wondered what exactly that meant. Can you explain it?
"That's just a made-up phrase I decided to say really quick! I think it was sensationalized on the show like, 'She's almost blind!' I have really big eyes and when it's cold or windy in New York I look like I just lost my best friend walking down the street because water is just pouring down my face. It's really pitiful! It was definitely sensationalized on the show with the sun light. If you look at my body of work from cycle 12 to 17 there are maybe one or two photos when my eyes are closed but it's not a real world problem.
"At the shoot in the salad bowl I was literally staring directly into the sun - which I'm not sure you're meant to do anyway! - it's not as big a problem as it was made out to be. I do have sensitive eyes but it's not like I'm struggling to see during daylight hours."
So it wouldn't normally be an issue in everyday photoshoots?
"No, unless I have to look straight into the sun for 20 minutes but I'd hope that would never be a situation I would be a part of! I work around it."
You got to shoot for Vogue Italia on the last episode but we never got to see the final images. Have you seen any of them?
"No! That's the one thing... I wish we could see them post-show or they would have shown something on the show. I guess because Lisa won she is the only one who really will be able to see after it's all said and done, but I would have loved to have seen those. It was so much fun to do."
What was the experience like of shooting for Vogue Italia?
"It felt very, very professional. It was very clean, the make-up was the best, and it was probably my favorite make-up they did, although they did bleach my eyebrows - they wanted to shave them off at first! I was like, 'Uhh...' It was very professional and the whole crew who worked with Italian Vogue were amazing. The photographer was amazing. It was an all-around great experience. I loved the styling. They painted me shades darker so it looks like I have a tan - that's not real! It was so much fun and I wish I could see the pictures."
What are your plans going forward?
"I love working in production, shooting the photographs, editing them. I have so many ideas I'm working on executing right now through art direction. I'm lucky I'm able to have people commission me to do portraits and I'm very busy with that. I'm very lucky and trying to tap into all of those things now. I also love modeling, so I just feel like I'm in the most productive period of my life and going with that right now."
What about doing music videos? You had success in that area on the show...
"(Laughs) I suppose we'll see what happens with that! I'm not trying to be a recording artist. I had so much fun with it so it was a best-case scenario with how it could have worked out for myself. It was so mortifying, at least in the beginning, because it was something I'd never done, but I ended up having a good time with it."
Would you be interested in appearing on TV in some capacity again?
"I would love to. I might try acting and take some acting classes. I used to love doing theater and things in high school and in junior high I was a big part of drama. I'll see what happens with that. I'm always up for trying new things and I live in New York so it's wonderful I have all these outlets available to me should I want to pursue them. I'm open to trying new things and I'd love to work in television again."
Finally, looking back on All Stars what will be your defining memory?
"I made so many really wonderful friendships and going to Greece was phenomenal. It's not something you get to say in your everyday life, 'It's pretty cool, I went to Greece today!' I do feel though that when we were shooting the music video and that whole bit of the show, it was really catastrophic and then it was kind of therapeutic and ended up being a music video I'll always have and be able to look at that. It was a fun growth with me during that episode."
America's Next Top Model airs on The CW
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