(20 Sep 1995) English/Nat
How do you get a man to pose in his underwear?
Offer him a modeling contract.
More than 5-thousand men responded to a search for a U.S. clothing chain's new underwear model.
Ten finalists were flown to New York for a makeover and a few quick modeling lessons before strutting their stuff before a panel of judges and screaming female fans.
At a trendy New York cafe, fashion followers gathered for an unusual show - a chance to see young men, in the flesh, clad only in their underwear.
Comedian Judy Tenuta, known for high-decibel raunchiness, presided over the event, as a panel of judges prepared to pick one winner from a field of 10 models.
These men weren't shy about strutting their stuff in a roomful of unabashed women.
Some of the outfits left little to the imagination.
The show was the culmination of a model search for "Structure" , a U.S. chain of men's clothing stores targeting the young and hip.
After receiving more than 5-thousand entries from prospective models, Structure officials narrowed the number down to 10 and sent them to New York for Tuesday's final competition.
Many of the finalists had never modeled before.
Judges chose Cedric Johnson, a 24-year-old amateur-boxer-turned-disc jockey. His face and body will appear on posters, underwear boxes and promotional materials for the Structure stores.
Johnson said his wife convinced him to enter the model search.
He took the prize in stride, saying that being seen in underwear doesn't bother him.
SOUNDBITE:
"I think of my body as like a car, I just work on it; so it's pretty much, the more people who like it, the better, I don't mind people looking at it."
SUPER CAPTION: Cedric Johnson, Structure Model
Judge and fashion model Daniela Pestova was one of the many people heaping praise on the new Structure underwear man.
SOUNDBITE:
"Great body, great face, he just looked very comfortable and nice. He was good."
SUPER CAPTION: Daniela Pestova, Model
SOUNDBITE:
"Cedric had a vulnerability that I think that the judges found very appealing. There was a shyness about him,; I really liked that about Cedric."
SUPER CAPTION: Ed Razek, Vice President, Limited, Inc.
SOUNDBITE:
"Honestly-Cedric, if not me, I wanted it to be him, because he's a really good guy, through and through."
SUPER CAPTION: T.J. Hoban, Model Search Contestant
While none of the other finalists got a modeling contract with the clothing retailer, they did get some exposure-in more ways than one.
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