Jordan Rafferty from Ballycastle and Jacqueline Graham and Alan McClenaghan from Ballymoney joined a staggering 350 'hopefuls' at the auditions organised by leading fashion retailer DV8 in Belfast last Wednesday.

Hopeful contestants joined the huge queue outside the retailers' flagship City Centre store at Castle Place.
Organisers were overwhelmed by the response to the event, which was organised to help find the 'Face of DV8' – a coveted prize which will see a male and female winner become the faces of the fashion chain for a year.

DV8, which has 22 shops across Northern Ireland, the Republic and Scotland, including Ballymoney, launched the Face of DV8 competition just three weeks ago to search for budding models aged 17 to 30 years old to represent the DV8 brand in all advertising online and in-store for 12 months. Contestants do not have to have modelling experience.

The lucky male and female winners also get a contract with leading model agency Alison Campbell Models, £500 worth of DV8 clothes vouchers and hair styling by award-winning salon Paul Stafford Hairdressing for twelve months.

A shortlist of 18 contestants will be announced in the next three weeks and it is hoped that the two winners will be chosen by the end of May. See www.dv8fashion.com for details.

The competition, different because it will have a male as well as a female winner, is being judged by model agency boss and organiser of the Miss Northern Ireland pageant Alison Campbell, celebrity hair dresser Paul Stafford and one of Ireland's best known photographers Khara Pringle.