Second Style Magazine

[I recently interviewed Honeydew Hilite (left) the creator behind Diva Style who recently completed a model search called the Miss Diva Style competition. KandieKane Laval (right) was crowned Miss Diva Style 2007.]

Celebrity Trollop: Tell me about the Miss Diva Style contest. How many entrants? How many finalists?
Honeydew Hilite: We had quite a few entrants and we ended up initially just narrowing the field to 12 finalists and from that list the intial competition started with a photo shoot here at the gardens with those 12 contestants.
HH: I actually hired Miss Jujudoll Dancer owner of Moda Modeling agency to manage the whole competition. I wanted to say that because she and her organiziton did an excellent job.
KandieKain Laval: Yes indeed they did.
CT: And after the initial photoshoot, what happened?
HH: Another part of the competion that I included was the questions: I had every girl answer a particular question as to what a Diva would do in particular situations. I felt it was important to know what the girls really felt a true diva is. I feel that a diva is A state of mind and knowing their thoughts and ideas on certain topics is just as important at the way they look.
CT: Is Kandie going to be “The Face of Diva Style” now?
HH: Yes, as part of winning the competition she will be in all our planned furture advertisments for the next year as well as attend various events throughout SL and I must say thus far she has been doing an excellent job.
CT: Kandie, please tell me about the competition from your perspective.
KL: The competition was all handled by Miss Noelle Canning, she did wonderful with getting all of us girls ready for the competition, everything was done very fair, and professional.
CT: What sort of prep work was necessary for the competition?
KL: We had several rehearsals to check our wardrobes and to make sure we all knew what we were to do on the runway and the photoshoot. The show turned out to be very stunning; at the end of the night when I was crowned Miss Diva Style 2007 I was in total awe and shock. It’s a night I will definitely never forget.
CT: Kandie, describe your emotions through the competition. How did you feel throughout the night until you found out you were the winner?

KL: At the beginning of the night all I could think of was: “Girl dont fall off the stage!” I had butterflies in my stomach throughout the evening, and when it was time to enter the stage for my first walk I thought I was going to pass out. My nerves were really shot and at the end waiting for the final announcement on who had won the title I couldn’t even think. It hadn’t hit me that my name was announced.
CT: What did it feel like to see your avatar wearing your crown around for the first time?
KL: I was honored of course, but very proud of what I had accomplished.
CT: How did the other contestants react when they found out Kandie was the winner?
KL: They were all very pleased and said congratulations there was no bitterness at all, we had all become close throughout the competition.
CT: Honeydew, tell me about the judging process. What criteria did you settle on as the most important?
HH: I wanted to see how well the ladies wore my designs, I deliberately did not give them shoes and clothing because I wanted to see how well they could axcessorize. The questions and answers were very important to me as well. I felt a true diva should be a diva no matter waht she is wearing. I enjoyed looking at the photoshoot photograps to see how well the contestants portrayed having diva style even if it was by the poses they chose. But the most important was the answers to the questions. All the girls were beautiful, so I relyed on that the most.
CT: Honeydew, you’ve mentioned that you wanted to find a true diva — and it sounds to me like Diva Style is more than just your brand. What does that phrase mean to you?
HH: My motto here at Diva Style is simple: ‘Being a diva is hard work, we just give you the tools to be good at it.” Now all that means is being a person that exemplifies beauty, elegance and self confidence and all this comes from the inside. We just help express the inside on the outside. That’s all Diva Style is.
CT: Kandie, before you entered the contest, were you a big Diva Style shopper?
KL: Funny you should ask. I was born to shop period! But I was here at Diva Style shopping and saw the ad for the competition and thought to myself, “I am confident in who I am and proud to be the best that I can be, so why not give it a shot.” But yes, I had bought a few Diva Style outfits.
CT: You’re a newly crowned model search winner — and you have what I’d call a “larger” shape than many female avatars in Second Life. There was a blog post on Fashionista about the “No Anorexia in SL” campaign the other day and it’s been a bit controversial. I wonder if you had a comment about modeling with a shape that’s a little larger than many models.
KL: In my opinion, first and foremost you must always be comfortable with yourself — beauty lies within and if you can be confident in who you are then shapes or sizes shouldn’t matter, its all about how you carry yourself.
CT: Do you think that models in SL portray unrealistic body shapes?
KL: I think it’s a matter of taste really, and I think it’s wonderful that there are many shapes for people to choose from, right down to being a bunny rabbit. So my answer to that would have to be no.
CT: Kandie, Honeydew, what’s been your favorite experience in the Miss Diva Style competition?
KL: All of the attention, the photo shoots, the new people I am meeting. It makes me know that being the person I am has had great rewards.
CT: What about you, Honeydew?
HH: I was intriqued by watching the young ladies perfom at the show, but at this point it’s the fact that KandieKain was chosen as the winner, and she has been doing an excellent job at representing us. She has also become a very close and personal friend of mine.
CT: A much more challenging question: What was the most challenging or trying experience in the competition? Is there anything you wish you’d done differently?
KL: The most challengeing was the questions, I would say, and no, I would have done everything the same. Maybe prayed for less lag!
CT: Any thoughts on my question, Honeydew?
HH: I honestly thought that would have been a problem because I was a finalist in the Miss SL competition earlier this year and lag was a killer but these young women were trained so well that it almost seemed like they were gliding through the lag and I really really was impressed. I have to thank Noelle Canning for all the hard work she put in with those young ladies.
KL: Noelle was absolutely wonderful with us ladies, we couldnt have done it without her
CT: What’s next for Diva Style?
HH: I plan to expand and put out the over 50 itmes still in my inventory. I was a little busy with my recent SL wedding. We plan to expand to shapes, shoes, skin and many other facets. Our goal it to spread Diva Style throughout SL.
CT: Anything else you want to tell readers that I didn’t ask you about?
KL: Just to be who you are, and be proud to be who you are. Never let anyone change you; stay true to yourself!
HH: I think Miss Diva Style just summed it up for me: it’s all from the inside, and no matter what, always be who you are.