DARIA WERBOWY
The Canadian model who's at the top of her game
" Beauty, they say, is impossible to quantify, but in Daria Werbowy's case, numbers do tell at least part of the story. Thirty: the number of runways she walked during the autumn 2003 collections. (It was her first time out of the gate.) Six: the number of times she appeared on the cover of Italian Vogue last year. And 12, the number of shows she opened during the spring 2004 season- a record, according to industry sources. When Karl Lagerfield, who recently shot Werbowy for Paris Vogue and the spring 2005 Chanel campaign, calls her "the girl of the moment" he's not exaggerating. she's the face of Prada perfume and stars in Gucci's current ads, too. but Werbowy's rise hasn't been entirely free of turbulence. A model in her native Canada since she was 14, she was set to make her international catwalk debut in September 2001. "i was booked for eight shows which, of coourse, never happened," says the 20 year old. " Afterwards i tried Paris for six months and that didn't work. I tried London for two months and that didn't work. So I quit." After a year, she decided to try New York again. Two days later, she was booked by Marc Jacobs and was offered an exclusive at Prada. No wonder: Werbowy's high cheekbones, wide-set eyes and chestnut mane have drawn comparisons to a young Linda Evangelista. But Werbowy is also known for her lack of " I don't get out of bed for less than $10,000" attitude. "She is fun, clever, ready for everything," says Lagerfield. "She is much more than a model- a personality and a unique beauty; a rare mix." And there's another number to keep in mind: 27. That's the age at which Werbowy says she's ditching it all to sail around the world. "I've been training for it since i was nine," says the model who also plays basketball and beach volleyball, snowboards and dreams of going to art school. "It's something i have to do."
-Vogue, Australia May 2005