So you want to be a fashion model… Charleston rocks the runway

Charleston Fashion Week is where young models have the opportunity to get their feet wet in the world of modeling… to prove what they’ve got.

Outside of the glaring spotlight of a major fashion market like New York, the models– men and women– can work on the skills that will pay the bills. And the event is so well put-together that the models can prove that they’re better than a fashion show mounted in a nightclub

Each year the gala event in Charleston, S.C. holds a Rock the Runway event, where models participating in the event are watched by a panel of judges throughout the first three nights of the fashion shows. The judges then pick their favorite men and women. At last year’s Charleston Fashion Week, 13 models found themselves signed to modeling agencies.

Here are the top 11 men and top 11 women who competed in the finals on March 18.

PHOTOS by MIKE CHAIKEN