Hilton Head Teen, Fashion Week Winner Rock the Runway, Charleston

Online, March 25, 2012 (Newswire.com) - All eyes were on Charleston Fashion Week as industry professionals, fashion designers, and celebrities gathered for the 2012 Rock the Runway competition. Hilton Head teen, Nikki Jansen, took first place winning a cash prize and modeling endorsements.

Charleston Fashion Week has fast become one of the premier fashion weeks in North America since founding in 2007. Held under the tents in Marion Square in Charleston, SC, this five-night celebration features more than 30 runway shows and competitions. Over 1,000 applicants are seen during casting calls throughout Charleston, Charlotte, and Atlanta with only the top 5 male and top 10 female models selected by their featured designers and boutique owners to strut before the panel of judges during the Rock the Runway event.

Nikki (black, left), a model with Tucker Model Talent, is an 8th grade student at Hilton Head Middle School who has a passion for modeling and art. She has been a model and Teen Board member with Tucker since the age of 11. "I am so very proud of her", says Jennifer Tucker, Agency Director. "Her potential and drive are incredible. We're continuing to focus on development right now, but there is no doubt she's going places." Tucker model, Jaclyn de Boer (right), also participated in Charleston Fashion Week. Jaclyn is a senior at Hilton Head Prep and is also member of the Tucker Teen Board. This is Jaclyn's second season with Charleston Fashion Week.

Charleston Fashion Week and its Emerging Designer Competition have helped launch the careers of aspiring designers-Carol Hannah Whitfield, Gordana Gehlhausen, and Marysia Dobranska Reeves sound familiar? And the CFW Rock the Runway model competition was created to do just that for undiscovered talent on the catwalk. After CFW 2010, three runway models-Caroline DeBruhl, Phoebe Guest, and Chelsea Rollins-catapulted to success in New York, two signing with top modeling agencies IMG and Ford and one walking in Alice + Olivia's spring show.