The new Miss Universe China, Luo Zilin, is in New York City, preparing for the big pageant and she’s been living for the last few weeks in the home of none other than Yue-Sai Kan, the TV personality and businesswoman who has a cosmetics label named after her.
Kan has assembled a team of experts — fashion model Lu Sierra, fashion photographer Fadil Berisha, dance instructor Linda Kurtis of Forest Hills and several French etiquette coaches — to help Luo win the crown.
From the moment her day begins at 7am, Luo has a schedule jam-packed with English lessons, dance class, etiquette class, interview skills lessons and dinner parties where she has to learn how to mingle with socialites.
It’s a race against time to give her that edge over other contestants in landing that crown, but even if Luo managed to just get into the top five, Kan thinks it would be a great present to China, this being the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic.
Jo Piazza of the WSJ caught up with the both of them and the interview quickly became more about Kan than about Luo, who doesn’t really have anything interesting to say, being the model-turned-beauty-queen that she is. Some of Kan’s soundbytes from the interview below:
On why this training is necessary:
“This is like trying to create a gold-medalist swimmer. If you don’t train her well there is no way you can throw her into an Olympic-type situation and expect her to win. In the past these women were not trained. That’s why they didn’t win.”
“This is like trying to create a gold-medalist swimmer. If you don’t train her well there is no way you can throw her into an Olympic-type situation and expect her to win. In the past these women were not trained. That’s why they didn’t win.”
On why previous Chinese contestants have never won
“The girls can’t be all that Chinese—it’s Miss Universe. They’ve got to be quite savvy about the world and what I am trying to do is to expose them to as many savvy things as possible.”
“The girls can’t be all that Chinese—it’s Miss Universe. They’ve got to be quite savvy about the world and what I am trying to do is to expose them to as many savvy things as possible.”
On the type of questions she drills Luo with
“She is representing China…there are always people who don’t like China and I have to prepare her for all kinds of situations where the questions may not be friendly.”
“She is representing China…there are always people who don’t like China and I have to prepare her for all kinds of situations where the questions may not be friendly.”
On Luo’s chances of winning
“We can only do so much. The crown is now hers to win or lose,” she said, adding: “But I am thinking she will win.”
“We can only do so much. The crown is now hers to win or lose,” she said, adding: “But I am thinking she will win.”
Source: http://thejlublog.com/2011/08/miss-china-million-dollar-coaching-for-miss-universe-video/