Strike a Balance, Strike a Pose
Model and Oscar® Award Escort Lauren Gish Dishes on Glitz, Glamour and Staying Grounded
By Heather Davis, MyShape Fashion Correspondent

When you tuned in to the 81st Academy Awards® ceremony in February, you saw gorgeous model Lauren Gish handing over those coveted gold-plated statuettes to the evening's ecstatic winners. Hers was no typical modeling assignment.

She won the spot as part of the new Oscars® Designer Challenge, an online competition á la Project Runway to choose the perfect dress for the Oscar escort. Lauren (no relation to silent star Lillian), in her dramatic gown designed by Sam Kori George, wowed the public and a panel of judges; the gown took the grand prize, and she was named Oscar Award Escort for the internationally viewed show.

In the weeks prior to the show, the public viewed videos, got to know designer George, watched the progression of the design and voted for their favorite. During the preview process a panel of judges including Academy Awards fashion coordinator Patty Fox, who is also MyShape's creative director, selected several models based on both appearance and, equally important, personality, then paired them with the competing designers. When George's breathtakingly elegant, platinum crepe gown adorned with handmade orchids took top honors, his model, Lauren, won the job that just about every model covets.

"Lauren brought the dress to life—that's what a great model does," explains MyShape's Fox. "Her star quality turned a gorgeous dress into an Oscar-worthy gown."

"I lay it all on the line when I meet someone," Lauren says of her audition for the selection committee and the requirement that the Award Escort be, above all, gracious and personable. And speaking with her, it's no surprise she captivated the judges at her audition, and the nation on Awards night. She may be just 20 years old, but she has a realistic sense of herself and radiates a straight-talking, Midwestern charm that puts anyone at ease.

Lauren is 5 foot 11 inches tall, but she still had to wear stilettos on Oscar night—a challenge even for models. "I'm so grateful to the Academy because they never made me rehearse in those shoes," she says; the anticipation of wearing them on the big night might have been too much. The gown she wore also had weights in the back to ensure it hung properly.

Lauren explains that she's had considerable experience keeping upright in lofty footwear: "I love playing up my height. I love wearing big shoes...I'm all about the wedges."

When it comes to personal style, Lauren says she doesn't like to think about it too much. "I'm not over the top...I never do the jewelry," she adds. She says she has a thing for balance—she's a Libra, after all—and likes to pair tight-fitting jeans that showcase her long legs with voluminous tops, "so you can eat a lot," or oversized pants with a tank top. She'll also combine a "cute little dress with wedge boots" or go classic cool in a leather jacket and shades.

The predictable skintight-from-head-to-toe model look isn't for her. A dancer, swimmer and nutrition junkie, Lauren has an athletic figure with narrow hips and broad shoulders that she loves to flaunt in strapless tops. When she attends a go-see for a modeling gig, she tries to express her personal style and show off what sets her body apart. In a business filled with drop-dead gorgeous competition with immaculately maintained figures, it's always important to highlight what's special about you, she says.

Lauren admits that, like most women, she put a lot of pressure on herself in the past based on the clothing sizes she fit into, but she realized her mother's advice is absolutely right: size truly means nothing.

"When you play with numbers, it really messes with your mind," she says. "You cannot go by what a number is." Sizing is entirely inconsistent because "every designer goes by what they've always been doing. You can't base life on a size number."