C.R. resident named winner in Maurices nationwide model search

 The Gazette

Duluth, Minn. – Brianna Palumbo, 20, of Cedar Rapids has been selected as one of 12 winners in Maurices Main Street Model Search. Palumbo will model for the young women's fashion retailer in an upcoming fashion campaign.

Palumbo is a full-time student at Kirkwood Community College. As a Maurices Main Street Model, she hopes to inspire full-figured women to be proud of being curvy and beautiful. “Curves are nothing to be afraid of; rather, they are a force to be reckoned with,” Palumbo says in a news release. “I want to let women know that no matter what shape or size, they are beautiful.”

Palumbo will receive a photo shoot in an iconic fashion shoot destination, which will gain the winning 12 national exposure through Maurices stores and online at maurices.com. She will also receive $1,500 in maurices clothing and a $7,500 charitable makeover for Partnership for Safe Families, a nonprofit in her hometown.

This is the second year maurices has held the contest. Palumbo was one of more than 1,400 women from around the country who entered.

Online voters narrowed the search to the top 100 and Maurices chose 20 of these women to attend a casting call in Minneapolis, Minn., last week. The judging panel from Maurices, including celebrity judge and Maurices designer Christopher Straub from Lifetime's “Project Runway,” got to know each woman and selected the 12 winners.

“We've been inspired by not only the number of participants in this year's search, but also the passion behind every contestant,” said Brad Hartmann, maurices vice president of marketing. “We're excited to give another group of women the modeling opportunity of a lifetime and also see the impact of the charitable makeovers on these women's hometowns.”

To see all 12 winners and follow them along their modeling journeys, visit mauricesmainstreetmodel.com.