Budding talent for Top Model

An elated Holly Wendt-Corfe, 18, leaves New Zealand's Next Top Model auditions with her mother Sandie Wendt after being selected for the next round. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Holly Wendt-Corfe reckons her knuckles are too fat.

But the judges touting for New Zealand's Next Top Model in Tauranga must have seen something special in the 18-year-old when they put her through to the next round.

The 174cm-tall brunette from Wellsford is studying to be a florist at Academy New Zealand in Glenfield, which the panel of three judges said showed in her colourful attire - a flowing, yellow floral top, black heels with pink bows and several bangles on each arm.

Holly, whose fashion idol is singer Gwen Stefani, was grilled on what body part she hated the most.

"I get told I have nice hands but I think my knuckles are fat," she told the judges.

But the beauty was told she had a perfect nose and was asked to phone Auckland booking agency 62 Models whether she got on the show or not.

The Tauranga auditions - the 11th stop on the nation-wide tour - attracted a raft of people, including a dairy farmer who had milked 350 cows that morning.

It also saw the first lot of aspiring male models through, including 17-year-old Tom Armstrong who works for Idea Services looking after a 13-year-old autistic boy.

About 60 people auditioned yesterday, with seven getting through to the next round.

The judges have five more centres to visit before choosing 33 people for the television show, which will screen on TV3 later this year. Thirteen are then picked to live in the "Top Model house" with the winner scoring a modelling contract.

Judge and model Colin Mathura-Jeffree called Tauranga the "eyebrow capital of New Zealand".

"They were all nicely groomed, not overly plucked.

"There were a lot of beach babes today. A lot of the applications were filled out in pink pen and almost everyone smelt of sun-tan lotion."