To launch the search for the 20th batch of New Face contestants, alumni from the last 19 years gathered for a photo shoot.
It was an emotional moment as the 40 women greeted each other with warm hugs, catching up with each other on the goings-on in their lives since the competition.
Though some had not done photo shoots for years, as the cameras clicked, they gamely posed like pros.
The entire shoot was wrapped up in under 20 minutes.
Angelique Teo, 38, the very first TNP New Face winner, said the competition catapulted her into the entertainment industry.
She said: "I did modelling, TV, I was a host for HBO Asia and I was a presenter at radio station Lush. "I really have the competition to thank for launching my career."
She is not the only one in showbiz.
Rebecca Spykerman, 28, a 2007 finalist, is also now an actress.
She has acted in plays with the Singapore Repertory Theatre, Buds Theatre Company and Dream Academy.
Others have graduated to be flight attendants, managers, entrepreneurs and teachers.
Many became full-time models.
The first runner-up from the 1995 contest, Serena Adsit, 33, even started her own modelling agency Mint, with Jolene Fok, a New Face '98 finalist.
Serena also had a baby boy last year.
She said she appreciates how the competition gives the girls a good base "to propel and prepare" them for the industry.
The gathering left some girls feeling the love. Student Collette Miles, 20, from New Face 2009, said: "It's like a big family gathering.
"There's this warm and fuzzy feeling when we meet up."
Housewife Patrica Eng, who was a finalist in 2001, recalled what fun the competition was.
She looks forward to encouraging her 21/2-year-old daughter to join the competition in the future.
Now that it's time to find 20 new girls for New Face 2012, the alumni are excited.
Nikki Tay, 19, who is from the 2010 contest and is waiting to enter a British university, said: "I see the competition getting bigger and better with each year. This only means that the 20th (anniversary) will be a blast!"
This article was first published in The New Paper.
