The shortest girl on Vietnam's Next Top Model record has been selected to enter the house.

Amateur model Fung La, standing at 1.54 m tall, is the shortest contestant to make it into the house for the seventh season.

On the afternoon of June 28th in Ho Chi Minh City, the Vietnam's Next Top Model 2016 program held a press conference to announce the 24 contestants who will advance to the final round.

Among the selected contestants, La Thanh Thanh (nickname Fung La) was the biggest surprise. The girl from Binh Duong is a familiar face in the photo modeling scene. During the casting round, she introduced herself as 1.55 m tall, but upon measurement, she was found to be only 1.54 m. This is the shortest height ever recorded among the contestants in the show's seven seasons.

Contestant Fung La.

Despite her modest height, Fung La was highly praised for her expressiveness and acting ability in front of the camera. She also garnered a large following during the Vietnam's Next Top Model 2016 competition. In the preliminary rounds, she consistently received compliments from judge Ha Do, creative director of Dep magazine. Besides Fung La, contestant La Thi Thu Hang was also selected, standing at 1.62 meters tall.

At the press conference, Fung La said: "Thanks to the new criteria of this year's competition, I have the opportunity to make my dream come true. I am grateful to the producers for this. I look forward to growing as this is the first competition I've participated in."

Ms. Quynh Trang, representing the organizing committee, explained the new criteria: "Fung La has a very modest height, but she possesses a very impressive face. We want to help people understand that height alone is not necessary to be a model. Body shape and height are always important standards, but attitude, talent, and a professional work ethic determine who wins."

Besides height, the physiques of some contestants entering the house this year were also judged negatively. Several male contestants had overly thin bodies and an androgynous style, contrary to the criteria for selecting male models in previous seasons.

To add a fresh touch to the seventh season of Vietnam's Next Top Model, the organizers decided to choose the message "Breaking all boundaries" for the entire season.

For the first time, issues of height, weight, and age will give way to the courage of participants to overcome their own limitations. The producers stated that they are willing to give opportunities to contestants who do not meet the usual standards of a model. After the competition, the best contestants will be trained by the organizers to become advertising faces, meeting the demands of the current market.

The organizers asserted that they were not using any "gimmicks" but were simply creating opportunities for contestants to overcome general social prejudices.

Model Thanh Hang shared: "I appreciate the organizers' courage in breaking the mold. That's why I want to challenge myself and reinvent myself. For example, in the first season, I wasn't fully accepted by the audience. The challenge for me is to win over the audience in subsequent appearances on the judging panel. Furthermore, when setting challenges for the contestants, I'm also the first to demonstrate and face the dangers to build trust with them."

According to VNE