happycanadian
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hey everyone, i think we should have a discussion on who we think are the deserved Top 10 Supermodels. I basically only used contemporary models (ie no Twiggy, Gia, Janice, etc).
To me, a true supermodel should have been extremely prominant in both High Fashion and Commercially sucessful. However, there are a couple (Elle & Heidi) who --though they have little high fashion experience -- have been TOO successful as commercial models to ignore from the list, IMO. A real supermodel has to be a celebrity as well as a model. They have to have a public persona that makes us care.
So, here's my top 10:
10: ELLE MACPHERSON: Elle may not have done much high fashion work, but she has ruled the commercial modelling industry as good as anyone else. Called "The Body", she was a mainstay in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition as well as on the walls of young men all around the world, thanks to her many successful calendars.
9: HEIDI KLUM: Heidi literally sky-rocketted to the top of the modelling game by landing the cover of the SI Swimsuit Issue as well as a huge contract with Victoria's Secret. She was also given the title of "The Body", filling the void Elle left of the smiley, cheerful brunette. Heidi has taken her modelling fame and turned it into huge media success, with appearances in several films and t.v. shows. She recently took to hosting her own reality show, "Project Runway".
8: CLAUDIA SCHIFFER: Gracing more than 500 magazine covers throughout her extremely successful career, this blonde bombshell captivated everyone with her curvy body and gorgeous features. As one of the "Fab 5" supermodels who reigned in the early 1990s, Claudia made millions of dollars walking the runways and representing the face of Revlon cosmetics. She has always been a celebrity as well as a top model and has never strayed far from the public eye, even as her career has slowed recently.
7 - TYRA BANKS: Tyra began her career as a very successful high fashion model. In fact, she still holds the record for the most shows walked in a model's first season. However, her gorgeous features and stunning figure quickly landed her 3 of the biggest commercial achievements possible for models: the cover of SI's Swimsuit Issue (2 consecutive years) as well as multi-million dollar contracts with Victoria's Secret and Covergirl Cosmetics. Though her actual modelling work slowed after the year 2000, Tyra continued breaking down barriers by appearing in several films, making cameo appearances on t.v. shows and by starting her own extremely successful reality show, "America's Next Top Model". Recently, Tyra has gone the route of Oprah and now hosts her own t.v. talk show.
6 - CHRISTY TURLINGTON: Christy has a face that could launch a thousand ships, a face that instantly makes men melt and women jealous, a face that has enjoyed an extremely successful career as one of the world's top supermodels. One of "The Trinity" (along with Naomi and Linda), Christy became everyone's favourite Maybelline girl (arguably bringing the company into public consciousness herself) as well as a mainstay for Calvin Klein and his underwear/fragrance lines. She has preferred to stay out of the public eye as much as possible, opting to not make the change to Hollywood, but people will always crave Christy.
5 - LINDA EVANGELISTA: One of "The Trinity", Linda was perhaps the most ubiquitous model of the first half of the 1990s. Her famous face has graced hundreds of covers of the world's most significant fashion magazines. She is also the supermodel who uttered the now infamous, "I wouldn't get out of bed for less than $10,000" line. Over 15 years into her career, Linda still makes cameo appearances on certain runways and rakes in the dough posing for advertising campaigns. Her looks have been described as chameleon-like because of her uncanny ability to reinvent her appearance and morph from high fashion diva to commercial goddess.
4 - GISELE BUNDCHEN: The "boobs from Brazil" took the fashion world by storm. She literally stomped her way down every major runway on earth and led the way for the huge Brazilian Invasion that happened at the turn of the millenium. Gisele has graced more fashion magazine covers than anyone else in the history of the business, even more than fellow supermodel Cindy Crawford. Her walk has spawned countless imitators and copycats, and with her lucrative Victoria's Secret contract Gisele is now the highest paid model on Earth. Now seperated from her longterm off-and-on boyfriend, Leo Dicaprio, Gisele is one of the world's hottest bachelorettes.
3 - KATE MOSS: Kate changed the fashion world in the mid-1990s with her frail waif-like body and quirky face. She introduced the "heroin-chic" ideal and literally marked the end of the glamazon era. Kate has never been out of the public eye, and has always sparked some type of controversy, be it due to her racy Calvin Klein ads, her many high-profile Hollywood relationships, or more recently with photographs of her indulging in a little of Columbia's best. However, it's not just controversy that keeps Kate in the pages of the world's glossy mags: she is renowned as a style-maker as her casual style is relentlessly copied by women throughout the world. Kate is truly a high-fashion icon and is constantly the name that designers mention as their true contemporary muse.
2 - NAOMI CAMPBELL: "To touch her skin is like heaven..." So says fellow supermodel Elle MacPherson of Naomi. A fellow "Trinity", Naomi represented the ethnic face of the supermodels of the early 1990s. She broke down countless doors for women of colour and hasn't stopped yet. Naomi has been on countless magazine covers and in inumerable editorials. She's been snapped by every significant photographer and is highly involved in worldy charities and international events. Still one of the world's most sought-after runway models, Naomi (dubbed "Queen of the runway") has one of the most recognizable walks on Earth. It's not so much as walk as it is a strut --- and one well-deserved after almost 2 decades as one of the most famous faces in the world of fashion.
1 - CINDY CRAWFORD: If the fashion world could choose one face as an icon of perfection, it would undoubtably be Cindy Crawford. She parlayed her gorgeous girl-next-door looks into a tremendously successful modelling career incomparable to anything before or since. With a multi-million dollar Revlon contract and having been on over 600 magazine covers, she is easily the most recognizeable model face on Earth. Even her name rolls off your tongue, and now 2 decades into her career, she still does the odd campaign and editorial, though most of her time is focused around her family.
To me, a true supermodel should have been extremely prominant in both High Fashion and Commercially sucessful. However, there are a couple (Elle & Heidi) who --though they have little high fashion experience -- have been TOO successful as commercial models to ignore from the list, IMO. A real supermodel has to be a celebrity as well as a model. They have to have a public persona that makes us care.
So, here's my top 10:
10: ELLE MACPHERSON: Elle may not have done much high fashion work, but she has ruled the commercial modelling industry as good as anyone else. Called "The Body", she was a mainstay in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition as well as on the walls of young men all around the world, thanks to her many successful calendars.
9: HEIDI KLUM: Heidi literally sky-rocketted to the top of the modelling game by landing the cover of the SI Swimsuit Issue as well as a huge contract with Victoria's Secret. She was also given the title of "The Body", filling the void Elle left of the smiley, cheerful brunette. Heidi has taken her modelling fame and turned it into huge media success, with appearances in several films and t.v. shows. She recently took to hosting her own reality show, "Project Runway".
8: CLAUDIA SCHIFFER: Gracing more than 500 magazine covers throughout her extremely successful career, this blonde bombshell captivated everyone with her curvy body and gorgeous features. As one of the "Fab 5" supermodels who reigned in the early 1990s, Claudia made millions of dollars walking the runways and representing the face of Revlon cosmetics. She has always been a celebrity as well as a top model and has never strayed far from the public eye, even as her career has slowed recently.
7 - TYRA BANKS: Tyra began her career as a very successful high fashion model. In fact, she still holds the record for the most shows walked in a model's first season. However, her gorgeous features and stunning figure quickly landed her 3 of the biggest commercial achievements possible for models: the cover of SI's Swimsuit Issue (2 consecutive years) as well as multi-million dollar contracts with Victoria's Secret and Covergirl Cosmetics. Though her actual modelling work slowed after the year 2000, Tyra continued breaking down barriers by appearing in several films, making cameo appearances on t.v. shows and by starting her own extremely successful reality show, "America's Next Top Model". Recently, Tyra has gone the route of Oprah and now hosts her own t.v. talk show.
6 - CHRISTY TURLINGTON: Christy has a face that could launch a thousand ships, a face that instantly makes men melt and women jealous, a face that has enjoyed an extremely successful career as one of the world's top supermodels. One of "The Trinity" (along with Naomi and Linda), Christy became everyone's favourite Maybelline girl (arguably bringing the company into public consciousness herself) as well as a mainstay for Calvin Klein and his underwear/fragrance lines. She has preferred to stay out of the public eye as much as possible, opting to not make the change to Hollywood, but people will always crave Christy.
5 - LINDA EVANGELISTA: One of "The Trinity", Linda was perhaps the most ubiquitous model of the first half of the 1990s. Her famous face has graced hundreds of covers of the world's most significant fashion magazines. She is also the supermodel who uttered the now infamous, "I wouldn't get out of bed for less than $10,000" line. Over 15 years into her career, Linda still makes cameo appearances on certain runways and rakes in the dough posing for advertising campaigns. Her looks have been described as chameleon-like because of her uncanny ability to reinvent her appearance and morph from high fashion diva to commercial goddess.
4 - GISELE BUNDCHEN: The "boobs from Brazil" took the fashion world by storm. She literally stomped her way down every major runway on earth and led the way for the huge Brazilian Invasion that happened at the turn of the millenium. Gisele has graced more fashion magazine covers than anyone else in the history of the business, even more than fellow supermodel Cindy Crawford. Her walk has spawned countless imitators and copycats, and with her lucrative Victoria's Secret contract Gisele is now the highest paid model on Earth. Now seperated from her longterm off-and-on boyfriend, Leo Dicaprio, Gisele is one of the world's hottest bachelorettes.
3 - KATE MOSS: Kate changed the fashion world in the mid-1990s with her frail waif-like body and quirky face. She introduced the "heroin-chic" ideal and literally marked the end of the glamazon era. Kate has never been out of the public eye, and has always sparked some type of controversy, be it due to her racy Calvin Klein ads, her many high-profile Hollywood relationships, or more recently with photographs of her indulging in a little of Columbia's best. However, it's not just controversy that keeps Kate in the pages of the world's glossy mags: she is renowned as a style-maker as her casual style is relentlessly copied by women throughout the world. Kate is truly a high-fashion icon and is constantly the name that designers mention as their true contemporary muse.
2 - NAOMI CAMPBELL: "To touch her skin is like heaven..." So says fellow supermodel Elle MacPherson of Naomi. A fellow "Trinity", Naomi represented the ethnic face of the supermodels of the early 1990s. She broke down countless doors for women of colour and hasn't stopped yet. Naomi has been on countless magazine covers and in inumerable editorials. She's been snapped by every significant photographer and is highly involved in worldy charities and international events. Still one of the world's most sought-after runway models, Naomi (dubbed "Queen of the runway") has one of the most recognizable walks on Earth. It's not so much as walk as it is a strut --- and one well-deserved after almost 2 decades as one of the most famous faces in the world of fashion.
1 - CINDY CRAWFORD: If the fashion world could choose one face as an icon of perfection, it would undoubtably be Cindy Crawford. She parlayed her gorgeous girl-next-door looks into a tremendously successful modelling career incomparable to anything before or since. With a multi-million dollar Revlon contract and having been on over 600 magazine covers, she is easily the most recognizeable model face on Earth. Even her name rolls off your tongue, and now 2 decades into her career, she still does the odd campaign and editorial, though most of her time is focused around her family.
