Where have Singapore's male models gone? There was a time when local It boys like Colin Wee, Gerald Wong and Joe Lin - famed for their chiselled cheek bones and piercing eyes - put a Singaporean stamp on both local and international catwalks.

But Wee, 29, who had done global ads for DKNY and American department store Macy's, has since ventured into freelance fashion photography.

Lin, 26, who appeared in the local edition of men's magazine FHM and local fashion publication Nuyou, has turned investment banker in Tokyo.

Wong, 30, now works in the banking industry here.

And local modelling agencies are finding it hard to fill their size-11 shoes.

At Upfront, 20 out of the agency's 56 male models are Singaporean. At ave, only five out of its 30 guys are local.

The sad truth, industry insiders say, is that our boys today simply don't make the cut.

Local fashion show producer Daniel Boey says models are born, not made.

'If you don't have the physique and the look, you simply don't have it,' he adds.

What many Singaporean males lack, too, is the right attitude towards modelling.

'Many Singaporean guys don't take modelling as a serious career and instead do it for extra money or a way to pass time while waiting for national service,' says Watson Tan, managing director of Upfront.

'Few would see themselves on the catwalks of Paris and Milan. Without that serious commitment and belief, they simply don't and won't push themselves.'

There is also a lack of opportunity. Local male models say job openings are limited here.

While there has been a rise in Asian faces in the international modelling scene, Singapore, it seems, has yet to catch on.

'Perhaps it's our post-colonial insecurities at work,' says model-turned- actor Elvin Ng, 27.

'The demand for foreign models often grossly outnumbers the demand for local models in both fashion shows and print advertisements,' he says.

Urban talks to two Singaporean guys who have joined the industry and asks just why they have taken the plunge.

This article was first published in Urban, The Straits Times on Apr 10, 2008.