André Leon Talley judges 'America's Next Top Model'

(AFP PHOTO/BERTRAND LANGLOIS)

One of fashion's most flamboyant figures, US Vogue editor-at-large André Leon Talley, has been hired by supermodel Tyra Banks as a full-time judge for the casting show, reports New Zealand news channel TVNZ.

The new series of the mother of all modeling casting shows, which has 30 international franchises, is currently being shot in New Zealand.

Designer Kimora Lee Simmons will also appear on the show, but as a guest judge, says TVNZ.

New Zealand is apparently experiencing the biggest media hype since the filming of the Lord of the Rings thanks to Banks shooting the last episodes of the new series in the country.

The local Cassius blog (as pointed to by New York Magazine) reports: "Tyra, Nigel, Jay M., Jay A., and new judge, Vogue Editor-at-Large, André Leon Talley, have been in Auckland since the first week of December, and we're not kidding when we say, everyone is obsessed with spotting or stalking them like an endangered species lol, which they are as New Zealand rarely hosts many Hollywood celebrities."

ANTM is watched internationally in more than 170 countries and regions.

Site: www.cwtv.com/shows/americas-next-top-model13