With New York fashion week almost upon us, the search for industry’s top model is already on. Though it seems, a group of researchers from Indiana University already have the answer. As according to a press release from the university, these researchers have formulated a complex algorithm that can analyze Instagram data from New York Fashion week and predict who will be the upcoming top model with over 80 percent accuracy.
In order to determine the popularity of the model, a number of factors are taken into account such as the number of runways walked, number of Instagram followers, amount of posts per month, likes and comments on these posts, along with their association with modeling agencies.
The data was gathered for 431 female models from the Fashion Model Directory, which was further narrowed down to 15 models listed as ‘New Faces’ on the Fashion Model Directory to accurately predict a model’s popularity.
Out of the eight models, six of them were accurately predicted to become the summer’s top model. Hence according to research findings, Sofia Tesmenitskaya, Arina Levchenko, Renata Scheffer, Sasha Antonowskaia, Melanie Culley and Phillipa Hemphrey were ranked as the top models of the Fall/Winter 2015 season.
While out of the seven who were predicted to be among the least popular, six of them actually did.
Emilio Ferrera, a computer scientist who conducted the research along with Indiana University, says that being on Instagram these days is as important as being represented by a top modeling agency to predict a model’s popularity in the scene.
“Being more active played in your favor”, said Ferrara. And who knew that the answer lies in Instagram. “So already being there plays in your advantage”.
The research further claims that the general tone of comments on a model’s Instagram account did affect their popularity though surprisingly the amount of ‘likes’ could lower a model’s chances by 10 percent. Another parameter was height, as an additional inch over the average could significantly increase their chances of walking a runway.
Hence, the research gives us a pretty good idea as to what it takes to be a popular model, and further proves the growing importance of social media. Put simply, if you want to be a successful model these days, make sure you have an Instagram account.
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