Veronika Krasnasari (left to right), Clara Tan and Valerie Krasnadewi (Courtesy of Rasno Shobirin)

Two Indonesian sisters, the first twins ever to contest the Asia’s Next Top Model reality television competition, are ready to captivate television audiences and wow judges — not just with their looks but also their brains.

The 25-year-olds, Veronika Krasnasari and Valerie Krasnadewi, are definitely not your run-of-the-mill models — apart from their beauty they are two fierce young women with an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to go beyond simply becoming top models.

Both graduated from the prestigious Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in West Java. Veronika is a microbiologist while Valerie is a bioengineer.

Valerie said that being the first-ever twins in the contest, now in its fifth cycle and which has finished filming in Malaysia and Singapore, was a very interesting, and at the same time emotionally weird, experience.

As twins, they not only had to try to beat the other 12 contestants — including another Indonesian contestant, 22-year-old Clara Tan — but also each other.

Competitors in the contest, which premiered on April 5 on the Star World cable TV channel, came from the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan.

“The burden feels heavier during each elimination. When my name’s being called out as one of the safe contestants, I feel great but at the same time, deep inside, I hope my sister made the cut too,” Valerie said.

“Yet, at the same time, I also realize that I am competing against her too. So, as twins, it’s a very interesting experience to compete against each other.”

By competing as twins, Veronika said it meant each of them had to step up their game and do their best to showcase their own uniqueness as models.

“We look almost identical. So, neither of us could rely solely on our physical appearances to impress the judges,” Veronika said.

“I have an edge compared to her though because my face is much slimmer,” she added, laughing, before disclosing that Valerie gained 3 kilograms during the competition from eating chocolate all the time at their quarantine house.

To be able to finally compete in the competition and become the first-ever twin contestants in the show’s history was a dream come true for them

The pair had been auditioning for the competition since its second season. “Finally, our hard work paid off after we managed to get in the contest’s fifth cycle,” Veronika said in an interview in South Jakarta.

Their ultimate goal in the competition was to win the top model title, even if it meant they needed to knock the other out.

The twins kept their hopes high of winning the contest following the success of previous Indonesian contestants — Ayu Gani won the title in cycle three and Patricia Gunawan was named the runner-up in cycle four — in the contest.

However, becoming the competition winner was not the only thing the twins had in mind. They also aim to use the competition as a platform to promote themselves as a brand and their business.

In the real world, the twins have joined forces to start their own business, called the Lookats Project, a creative service-management company based in Bandung.

“It happens that our business is often related to the creative industry, including fashion, and both of us love to have our photographs taken so we thought, why not try to compete in the Asia’s Next Top Model competition?” Veronika said.

During the modeling competition, Veronika said the audience could ascertain differences of characteristics between the two as rivals.

“Valerie is much more competitive than me. This is clearly shown in the competition when she keeps trying to push me to pose better during photo shoots. At the same time, she is also more calculating. I am more of a doer in our business while she is the one with more plans and considerations,” Veronika said.

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