Requirements

Contestants must be between 18 and 25 years of age, and had to be Vietnamese citizens or foreigners of Vietnamese origin. From season four women had to be at least 5'7" (170 cm) tall and men at least 5'9" (175 cm) tall in order to compete. The contestants must not be managed exclusively by companies, agencies, or products and have no criminal record. In season seven, height and age requirements are removed.

Season one

The original panel of judges, including Nathan Lee, Elizabeth Thủy Tiên, and Hoàng Ngân, was fired because of conflicts among themselves and with the producers.^[1][2][3][4] A new panel was introduced; the head judge was model Hà Anh, and others included designer Huy Võ and actor-model Đức Hải. Đức Hải was primarily known for appearing in made-for-television films, and Huy Võ was reportedly a student at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising.^[5]

Despite signing non-disclosure agreements, several contestants appeared on other TV shows before their elimination (suggesting they had been eliminated).^[6] The first-season finale was reportedly taken from the fourth-season finale of Germany's Next Topmodel,^[7] and the finale's "live" photo shoot was reportedly staged.^[8]

Season two

Although head judge Xuân Lan, Nam Trung, Phạm Hoài Nam and Đỗ Mạnh Cường were chosen for their Vietnamese fashion-industry expertise, their lack of international experience was criticized.^[9] In response to questions from VTC News about qualifications for a top model, Elite Vietnam director Thúy Nga said that most finalists' body shapes were rough and disproportionate. She said, "Being a top model in three months is unbelievable" and considered the competition as primarily entertainment.^[10]

During filming, finalists Hoàng Oanh, Thùy Dương and Phương Nghi faced a lawsuit from producers for leaking the elimination order before the final episode. The lawsuit demanded 15 billion Vietnamese đồng (about US$714,000) for the contract violation.^[11][12][13] Around the New York Fashion Week (in which season-one winner Huyền Trang, season-one runner-up Tuyết Lan and season-two winner Hoàng Thùy participated),^[14][15][16] Tuyết Lan was named season-one winner over actual winner Huyền Trang in an email.^[17][18] According to executive producer Quỳnh Trang, it was a typographical error and Huyền Trang was the winner.^[19] Hà Anh said in an interview that based on their invitations, Hoang Thuy and Tuyet Lan might not walking at the New York Fashion Week. This caused antagonism between Quỳnh Trang and fellow judge Đỗ Mạnh Cường and Hà Anh.^{[20][21][22][23][24]} Hà Anh accused Quỳnh Trang of rigging the show and treating Huyền Trang unfairly,^[25] saying that the Vietnamese audience was misled and neither Lan nor Thùy walked at the New York Fashion Week.^[26] Huyền Trang later confirmed that she did not receive her billion-dong modelling contract, a trip to New York for training or a VND 200 million contract with Revlon cosmetics, declaring her intention to dissolve her relationship with the show.^[27] A post on the show's Facebook page called the situation a misunderstanding, saying that Trang was in breach of contract.^[16][28]

Season five

In its fifth season, Vietnam's Next Top Model crowned two winners: Quang Hùng and Nguyễn Oanh. Viewer reaction was negative, with the audience considering Oanh's victory undeserved.^[29] Xuân Lan later told the press that Oanh was a worthy winner, and the producers had received approval from the format distributor for two winners. According to finale host Tùng Leo, the photos from the live photo shoot were not shown because of the venue's poor lighting.^[30]