TOP 10 Supermodels

[Echoes]

First, I would never insult the industry by putting that thing "Moss" on any such list.


The word supermodel implies that one has crossed out of what many of you call 'high fashion' and into the mainstream world as celebrities in their own right. It means that people outside of fashion know who they are for what ever reason. Most supermodels are in high demand in all forms of media, they have surpassed the runways and the madness of 'fashion week' They never have to go back to that unless they want to.

With that said, I feel that many people on this boards are too young to remember the true supermodels. Many of you mention Twiggy and Stephanie Seymour, Tyra Banks, Cindy Crawford and many others, butb you leave out Cheryl Tiegs, Maud Adams, Cheryl Ladd, Cybil Shepard, Shelley Hack, Joan Severance, Carol Alt and so very many others.


And the first to be described as a 'Super Model'? As far as I know the term was coined in the 50's for Suzy Parker who who appeared on dozen's of covers and was a household name and celebrity before the general world knew much about modelling at all.

From All Movie Guide: An elegant, red-haired beauty, high-priced cover-girl-turned-actress Suzy Parker is generally considered the forerunner to modern-day supermodels. Exuding an alluring sense of class that lent her high visibility the 1950s, it's no surprise that Parker was one of the highest-paid models of her generation. Born Cecilia Ann Renee Parker in Long Island, NY, Parker's sister Dorian Leigh (also a popular fashion model) attempted to help her break into the industry by introducing her to renowned modeling agent Eileen Ford, who immediately dismissed the 14-year-old as too tall. Undaunted, Parker next approached Diana Vreeland, who quickly signed her to a contract. It wasn't long before Parker redefined the fashion industry as the face of Coco Chanel, and the rising starlet was subsequently photographed by some of the best in the business.

She was the first model to make more than $100 an hour and $100,000 a year.

Was a favorite of designer Coco Chanel and photographer Richard Avedon.

 

[m.j.]

the real supermodels IMO are just kate,naomi,chritsy and linda
followed by helena,claudia,cindy,ghauri,mulder,paulina,gia,jerry hall

 

[woemwoem]

Too hard to even come up with top 10 list much less rank them so here is my list in no particular order.

-Cheryl Tiegs. Was on SI cover as well as numerous Vogue covers. Climbed the peaks of both commercial and high fashion work and remains the archetype of the blonde hair, blue eyed, All-American beauty.

- Linda Evangelista. Not a perfect beauty but incredibly chic, versatile and fashionable --high fashion personified and the essence of what a model should be.

- Suzy Parker. Reallly the frist supermodel whose name was known by the public. She established modeling as a career that could pay big bucks and make a girl famous.

- Cindy Crawford. Like Tiegs, reached the peak of commercial and high fashion success. Yes, her initial success was predicated on her resemblance to Gia Carangi, but she surpassed any success Gia would have ever had. She created a new template for success as a supermodel.

- Twiggy. Broke all the rules and showed you didn't have to have perfect features to be a great model. Modeling has never been the same since her.

- Iman. Before Naomi, before Liya and more so than Beverly, she was the first black model to attain supermodel-dom. Bevery may have been the first black face on Vogue, but Iman is the first black face to be in fashion vogue.

- Kate Moss. Just as Twiggy broke the mold and change dthe face of modeling, she created a seismic shift when she appeared. Gone were the amazons and in were the cool, street-chic girl, an aesthetic that continues almost 20 years after she first hit the scene.

- Gisele. Opened up a whole new country to modeling. Now no serious agency can exist without a serious scouting network in Brazil.

- Lauren Hutton. Was a little on the short side, had the gap teeth, but a face for the ages, nonetheless. Received the first big cosmetic contract and a classic patrician beauty.

- Claudia Schiffer. She was everywhere in the 90s and came to personify the Teutonic/Nordic amazonian beauty. Blonde, 6 feet tall, thin -- if we had to create a template for the single type of girl that EVERY agency is looking for in a girl, she would be it.

 

[Joseph26]

First, I would never insult the industry by putting that thing "Moss" on any such list.

I agree, Kate Moss is never considered in US (vh1, e!...) supermodels countdowns.

The word supermodel implies that one has crossed out of what many of you call 'high fashion' and into the mainstream world as celebrities in their own right. It means that people outside of fashion know who they are for what ever reason. Most supermodels are in high demand in all forms of media, they have surpassed the runways and the madness of 'fashion week' They never have to go back to that unless they want to.

exactly! you know it.

 

[Joseph26]

Too hard to even come up with top 10 list much less rank them so here is my list in no particular order.

great list! I really enjoyed what you wrote, thanks

 

[VickiB]

Each Generation has their Supermodel
50's : No Idea.
60's : Twiggy
70's : Cheryl Tiegs, Lauren Hutton
80's : Christie Brinkley, Iman, Gia
90's : Linda, Cindy, Christy, Naomi, Kate, Claudia, Elle, Helena, Tyra
00's : Gisele (yet is still to come)

 

[Joseph26]

60's : Twiggy

+ Jean Shrimpton, Suzy Parker

70's : Cheryl Tiegs, Lauren Hutton

+ Jerry Hall, Veruschka!, Margaux Hemingway

80's : Christie Brinkley, Iman, Gia

+ Paulina Porizkova, Carol Alt, Kim Alexis.

90's : Linda, Cindy, Christy, Naomi, Kate, Claudia, Elle, Helena, Tyra

+ Stephanie, Amber, Nadja, Shalom.



00's : Gisele (yet is still to come)[/quote]

+ only Gisele

 

[misssakura]

I'd say (not in any particular order) in relation to popularity and commanding all aspects of fashion:

1) Twiggy
2) Claudia Schiffer
3) Naomi Campbell
4) Linda Evangelista
5) Gemma Ward (seriously, I know non fashion people who know Gemma)
6) Gisele Bundchen (same again)
7) Iman/Beverly Johnson ( I couldn't pick between the two but they're both stunning and household names )
8) Milla Jovovitch
9) Christy Turlington
10) Kate Moss. Love her or hate her, she commanded and still commands high fashion AND commercial. She's a household name. She's a super as far as I'm concerned.

 

[happycanadian]

BAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!! @ "Gemma".

she could certainly be there a few years from now. i'm still surprised at her longevity. but to put her with all those people, excluding folks like Stephanie Seymour, Eva Herzigova, Shalom Harlow, Carmen Kass, Karolina Kurkova, Cindy Crawford, etc etc. it's a bit absurd.

i agree with the concept that a "Supermodel" is any model who has been successful in high fashion AND whose name you actually know.

since 2000, the only 2 models whose names are well-known would be Gisele and Karolina. (and even Karolina is about 10 steps behind Gisele in terms of household name status -- though KK is at least 10 steps ahead of whomever might be considered 3rd).

 

[Joseph26]

BAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!! @ "Gemma".

she could certainly be there a few years from now. i'm still surprised at her longevity. but to put her with all those people, excluding folks like Stephanie Seymour, Eva Herzigova, Shalom Harlow, Carmen Kass, Karolina Kurkova, Cindy Crawford, etc etc. it's a bit absurd.

i agree with the concept that a "Supermodel" is any model who has been successful in high fashion AND whose name you actually know.

since 2000, the only 2 models whose names are well-known would be Gisele and Karolina. (and even Karolina is about 10 steps behind Gisele in terms of household name status -- though KK is at least 10 steps ahead of whomever might be considered 3rd).

I agree, that list just don't make sense, besides Milla Jovovich supermodel? hello!

 

[Joseph26]

since 2000, the only 2 models whose names are well-known would be Gisele and Karolina. (and even Karolina is about 10 steps behind Gisele in terms of household name status -- though KK is at least 10 steps ahead of whomever might be considered 3rd).

I would also add Adrana Lima + Heidi Klum, definitely the VS girls are the ones to be remembered as the models of the 00's

 

[Echoes]

Heidi Klum would be closer than almost anybody else recent. She had a recurring role in "Spin City" with Michael J. Fox.

Another name I haven't seen posted here is Rebecca Romijn-Stamos

 

[PoppyAzura]

Heidi and Rebecca are commercial models not super models. Doing VS does not make you a super model.

I like your list woemwoem

 

[Joseph26]

Heidi and Rebecca are commercial models not super models. Doing VS does not make you a super model.

I like your list woemwoem

** doing only high fashion does not make you Supermodel either. **

a real Supermodel is, for example, Stephanie Seymour.

* Vogue Cover girl.
* adored by the biggest photographers like Richard Avedon and Herb Ritts
* High Fashion Runway model adored by Gianni Versace, Azzedine Alaia and others. even today she's admired by talents like Marc Jacobs and Zac Posen
* High Fashion advertising model, CHANEL, Versace, Louis Vuitton....
* 90's Victorias's Secret girl
* Sports Illustrated glamazon
* Playboy siren


^ she did everything, all at the same time, that's why they were Supers and there are not models like her these days.

---------------

but in 10 years, when people remember the models of the 00's they will say, Gisele, Heidi, Adriana, Karolina ...

 

[misssakura]

I don't think that's fair. That's like me saying "Bah, The Departed? Kids are only saying that film is good because they're too young to remember Casablanca!". It's a very elitist snobby point of view. Just because something is newer it doesn't instantly discredit value. I agree that perhaps the supers of the 80's and early 90's commanded the most spending power and perhaps more of a media feeding frenzy but it's completely snobbish and naive to say that models like Gemma Ward aren't supers in their own right. Let's see, a model who commands high salary, is a household name, is consistently booked, who pioneered a trend and does both fashion and more commercial? Isn't that worthy of something? I'm well aware of who the traditional 'supers' are considered to be and if the thread was about that then there would be no point asking.

If there is a thread there has to be some subjectivity.

I included Milla because she has done fashion, commercial, acting, singing and is a household name as well as her own fashion line. She's also incredibly highly paid. So please don't look down your nose at me because I don't pick some glorified oldies, as influential as they may have been. I also personally think she's frickin gorgeous.

What I'm saying in a nutshell is, if Stephanie Seymour had only been modelling for the same amount of time as Gemma and existed in our current fashion world (the 00's) would that instantly discredit her?

 

[Echoes]

models like Gemma Ward aren't supers in their own right.

She isn't. And she never will be.

if Stephanie Seymour had only been modelling for the same amount of time as Gemma

Please, I'm begging you, NEVER use those two names in the same sentence again. It's incredibly insulting to Ms. Seymour.

 

[misssakura]

Just wanted to add, if I wanted to go along the wave of agreeing that the oldies are the besties I wouldn't have bothered replying

Edit: just noticed the last post. 1) Perhaps the lovely Ms. Seymour likes Gemma Ward. 2) The horse you're on is so high, make sure you don't fall off and crack something precious. 3) Why does liking Gemma insult Stephanie Seymour?

I'd like you to appreciate that I don't dislike Stephanie Seymour nor the other models but I happen to value other models too. Your reply was pretty insulting, and golly I love your passion (the foundation of the fashion industry afterall) but let's stay somewhat civilized here. If you're going to give such a strong rebuttal then at least state your reasons coherently.

Who knows how the newer models will progress in the future and what their impact/legacy on the industry will be perceived as.

 

[Mr-Dale]

First, I would never insult the industry by putting that thing "Moss" on any such list.


The word supermodel implies that one has crossed out of what many of you call 'high fashion' and into the mainstream world as celebrities in their own right. It means that people outside of fashion know who they are for what ever reason. Most supermodels are in high demand in all forms of media, they have surpassed the runways and the madness of 'fashion week' They never have to go back to that unless they want to.

Kate Moss is:

- a highly succesful high fashion model
- a celebrity
- with mainstream contracts (Rimmel etc)
- every single person in the world who has not been under some kind of rock for the past decade or more knows Kate Moss (just as they know Naomi e.g.)
- she has surpassed the runways and only went back to do a Burberry show in 2004.
- she is in high demand of the media (paparazzi stalks her, her well known affair put her on top of everything)
- to use someone's criteria: she actually was on VH1 list of Hottest Supermodels

Conclusion: she must be a supermodel....
So my question is, do you just not like Kate Moss or are you ignorant? Sorry if that sounds rude, but you constantly express your dislike towards Kate and her role as supermodel, so it's kinda beyond me. I am not a fan per se either of her look, but come in, you can't deny her status

 

[Joseph26]

- every single person in the world who has not been under some kind of rock for the past decade or more knows Kate Moss

are u serious? there are millions and millions of people who have not been under some kind of rock for the past decade but they don't have idea about who Kate Moss is, Iran, Irak, Africa,latin american and a lot of other countries have their own culture. why should they know her?

There's millions of poor people dying of inanition in Africa and Latinamerica.... etc, etc it's very immature to say thet every person in the world knows Kate Moss, whatta superficial thing to say. I'm impressed.

 

[misssakura]

Don't be ridiculous and put it in the context of this thread - if we're talking about supermodels then we're already on a somewhat superficial level n'est ce pas?

You're in a fashion forum. You're in a thread regarding people's opinions on successful models - women who are paid to entice the wealthy or give dreams to those who aspire to be so - it's not a particularly politically correct profession to begin with.

So back to my original point - if you ask anybody with a radio, television or access to magazines who Kate Moss is and they're under the age of 60 then they'll most likely know. However tragic the starvation of millions in countries like Ethiopia may be it has nothing to do with this thread.

I met somebody yesterday who had never heard of The Beatles.