dcobeyd said:
don't get me wrong, i love daria, but i don't think she's an icon yet... specially when comparing to gisele... they're both gorgeus models, who are very different obviously. Gisele changed the fashion world, and was chosen as the model representing the new sexy wave of the late 90's... the amount of work daria did in quantity dont get close to what gisele did, and if you ask out of the fashion world who gisele is, they will know, as for daria, i'm not so sure, supermodels are not only couture models, which gisele represented much more than daria... daria is the best TOP model right now, but not the best Supermodel, i dont think she earned that title yet, she may someday, but not yet... she's very unique, but didn't marked the fashion world as claudia, naomi, linda and gisele did... let's see what happens from now on...
It is nearly impossible to change the fashion world as a model right now, when we are living in a celebrity-obsessed culture where celebrities dominate advertisements and magazine covers (hell, sometimes their appearance at a fashion show overshadows the actual clothes). This makes what Daria has done an amazing accomplishment.
For example/analogy, look at television sitcoms today. There was recently a buzz about how Charlie Sheen has become the highest paid sitcom actor at $350,000 per show. But that is nothing compared to Kelsey Grammar, who was making $1.6 million per show on Frasier. Still, this is a feat for today's tv, when airtime is dominated by dramas.
For another example, look at the NHL. In the 1980s, it was a very high scoring era. Darryl Sittler set the record for 10 pts in a game in 1979. In today's NHL (well, pre-lockout), it is considered amazing to have just 4 points in a game, where the trap-style defense prevented goals.
Last non-modeling comparision, I swear: Comparing Daria to the previous supermodels is like comparing today's good actors to the old Hollywood stars. Yeah, Brad Pitt (or whatever actor) does some good movies, but to compare him to greats like Cary Grant, Marlon Brando? He doesn't compare. But he's certainly very iconic for this generation.
It is not fair to compare what Daria has accomplished to what other models have accomplished in completely different eras. However, you can compare her accomplishments to the other models of today and THAT is where you will see she has a very elevated status.
Look at some of the things she has done:
- major W and V covers devoted SOLELY to her, not just an editorial, but actually something featuring her name, promoting her image on the cover like they would a celebrity
- major cosmetics campaign contract
- multiple fragrances (Lancome, Prada)
- to quote MDC, an "impeccable booking record" (Prada x 2, Gucci, YSL, Chanel x 3, Missoni, Versace, Louis Vuitton)
- campaigns with other supermodels: Gloria Vanderbilt (Gisele, Kate Moss) and Versace (Christy, Carolyn, Kate, Angela)
- paparazzi photos (I don't believe Gemma/etc. have ever had the paps take pics of them?), sightings on places like gawker.com like a celebrity
- skipped 2 runway seasons (I think? Or was it just the one?), yet still came back full force, with every major designer wanting her on the runway
Other girls have had the cosmetics campaign (Anja for Estee), the fragrances (Hana for Gucci), the great booking records (Gemma), the paparazzi (Irina, but only becuase she was w/Lindsay Lohan), the runway comeback (Tasha Tilberg) ... but who has had them ALL?
Obviously Daria's accomplishments cannot be compared to Linda & co. But there's a big difference: different time periods AND Daria never wanted to be a big supermodel, while the other models have embraced fame and gone out to work for it.
In conclusion, what she's done is a feat for today's models and that is why she deserves to be considered iconic. Also, not that I don't love her, but Natalia V. is considered iconic, despite never reaching the celebrity status that Gisele & Linda achieved. Average people still don't know who Natalia is. So if Natalia can be considered iconic, I think Daria should too.