Meet the winners of the Sunderland Echo Face of 2018 modelling competition

Earlier this year we teamed up with a group of industry experts to launch our filter-free modelling competition to find one boy and one girl with a natural, quirky look - minus the Snapchat filters.

After receiving scores of entries, the judges have chosen their winners to be Ethan Temple, 18, from Silksworth and Rachel Crago, 16, from Hall Farm.

As well as a photo shoot with Scott Spock Photography which will be featured in the Echo, they have each won styling for the shoot from celebrity hairdresser Neville Ramsay and make-up artist Amanda Bell; a £100 gift card each from The Bridges, six months of hair styling complete with Milkshake hair products; a make up session with Amanda at her studio in Norton and a consultation, with the potential for a contract, at Savalas Models.

Rachel, who is studying travel and tourism at Sunderland College, said: “I’m absolutely buzzing to have won. I’ve never done anything like this before but my mam saw it in the Echo, so I thought I’d give it a go. I’m really looking forward to the winners’ shoot and working with the professionals.”

Ethan, who is studying a BTEC in public services at Sunderland College, said: “I’m really pleased to have won but a little bit shocked. It was my family who suggested I entered because I have a different look, my hair gets a lot of comments.”

The judges who faced the tough task of choosing their favourites were representatives from Scott Spock Photography, Neville Ramsay hairdressing, Amanda Bell elite make up artist, Savalas Models and The Bridges.

Neville Ramsay, who’s worked on a number of fashion campaigns, said: “We were impressed with all the finalists but Rachel is a really natural beauty, which fulfilled the brief for the contest. She’s a blank canvas, because she could be this English Rose or you could make her look dramatic. She’s going to photograph really well. With Ethan he has a really quirky look and that hair is just amazing. I’m really looking forward to working with them and building their confidence.”

Amanda said: “Choosing from this year’s entrants was a challenge, the general standard was really high and so varied. Rachel got my vote because, from a make up artist’s perspective, her bone structure is great and her features are really versatile, she could be styled as the girl-next-door, a Grecian goddess or vamped up and vixen-esque. This is so important for a model when it comes to having the potential to be booked for different types of projects. It’ll be exciting to see what the future holds for her.”