The Supermodel - Is it Time for a Rebirth?

[agee]

I don't think that there will be another supermodel era and if that happens it will be because of a perfect storm type situation or it will be because a powerful agent or editor wants it to happen and takes it on as a mission. However, I do think that there will be supermodels in the future, I feel like models like Lara, Karlie and maybe Freja are one blockbuster project / event or significant other away from becoming supermodels.

 

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Iconic images are missing also. Avedon's photography is unforgettable throughout many decades; Corinne Day's editoral of a young Kate Moss propelled her from the pages of The Face & Claudia Schiffer's GUESS campaign adorned many a dorm room's wall back in the day. It is a tradegy that the only fashion image I remember from the last few years is Caroline Trentini jumping, jumping, jumping in the pages of Vogue!
Just one magic moment in photography can transfix a model into the genpop psyche forever!

 

[tigerrouge]

I hope the supermodel era never comes back. The 90s supers were tacky, arrogant, obnoxious and overexposed.

Plenty of people working in the fashion industry are all those things and more, but just not photogenic enough to get work in front of the camera, so they have to remain monsters behind the scenes, and dominate in some other capacity.

I've never been interested in the campaign to cut the supermodels down to size, because given how many people get screwed over, the sight of a group of girls who managed to swing the industry their way is a beautiful thing. None of them experienced overnight success, they worked their way to the top and stayed there thanks to their professionalism, appeal and savvy business sense - and more power to anyone who can follow in their footsteps.

 

[i82be34u]

Plenty of people working in the fashion industry are all those things and more, but just not photogenic enough to get work in front of the camera, so they have to remain monsters behind the scenes, and dominate in some other capacity.

I've never been interested in the campaign to cut the supermodels down to size, because given how many people get screwed over, the sight of a group of girls who managed to swing the industry their way is a beautiful thing. None of them experienced overnight success, they worked their way to the top and stayed there thanks to their professionalism, appeal and savvy business sense - and more power to anyone who can follow in their footsteps.

Supermodels are the fashion. With no supermodel there is no "super" and fashion needs that. I agree with you : "more power to anyone who can follow in their footsteps" (love that, will use it again)...in fact and by example a photographer can't be a top photographer without a "super" model otherwhise is picture are good pictures not "super" pictures...well...a supermodel can't be without a super photographer?...and a super styliste?... Let me know. B)

 

[iluvjeisa]

Plenty of people working in the fashion industry are all those things and more, but just not photogenic enough to get work in front of the camera, so they have to remain monsters behind the scenes, and dominate in some other capacity.

I've never been interested in the campaign to cut the supermodels down to size, because given how many people get screwed over, the sight of a group of girls who managed to swing the industry their way is a beautiful thing. None of them experienced overnight success, they worked their way to the top and stayed there thanks to their professionalism, appeal and savvy business sense - and more power to anyone who can follow in their footsteps.

Yeah. Young women are incredibly easy to push around and manipulate, especially if they don't speak the language fluently and are constantly told they are severely lacking.

So girls who can overcome those obstacles are worth a lot of respect. Even if they emulate the histrionic sociopaths that make it to the top of the business they work in.

 

[CommanderTMugler]

#107, I completely agree, I like how you broke things down into the separate categories. I would add in KK and Miranda there as well...

#110, I can see why someone like Lara and Freja can be in contention as the next supers bit honestly they are lacking in so many other departments. I don't think they are well balanced enough. I can't blame magazines for not putting models on their covers when some don't really bring anything apart from their image along. Now we need the image + a personality and a story if possible. While the Natasha's, Freja's and Lara's can conquer HF, I can respect someone like Maryna more for extending into other branches of modeling.

Also, going back to the obstacles talk, I do think that to be a super you need to be around for a while and figure out a way to stay relevant in the media in some way and now in this day and age there are more tools to do so. I mean look at someone like Alessandra who while she already gets coverage for being a VS Angel, she still uses that name to the maximum to market herself. Even if she does hint that paps to where she is, who can blame her if that will help her with publicity with the general audience? She's capitalizing off her opportunities the the maximum hence she's been able to stay for a while as opposed to say someone like Izabel who while she's around, she's not as well known. I feel if a model wants to be known as a super, she can, she might not be as big as the 90's models but she still has the chance to be so.

They can't just sit there and hope that editors will chose to not put celebs on the covers and hope they will land something, If they see that's not working then make themselves into celebs one way or another. It will be harder on their own as opposed to just landing a big gig, but it's possible.

 

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ppl are just too obsessed with VI these days...they think if you make it to the cover you become a supermodel... NO YOU DON'T;-))) Vogue Italia does not make supermodels;-) it helps them to become one...
Fashion outsiders don't give a d*amn about Vogue covers... they give a d*amn only if they know who the person on the cover is...
Supermodel is a marketing term... the wider market you cover the bigger model you are...

 

[agee]

Of the big Vogues, a Vogue Italia cover is the least indicator of someone achieving supermodel or even top model status unless it is a commercial / VS model crossing over.

 

[TREVOFASHIONISTO]

Vogue US (the model cover) and Vogue UK seem to be the Vogues
that may associate a model with the "super"model status...they dont feature models on them too often but when they do it is usually a girl of that calibur.

KK is one of the supers that fits in with Liya, Erin, Natalia and the early 2000 supers...she has already placed herself in that category of fame in the modeling world as well as celebrity based world

 

[iluvjeisa]

There have been no supermodels after Gisele. Not Natalia even. And certainly not Erin (please, how do these ideas even crop up).

Lara could be, but she's a little to alien. Freja has the potential but she is too angular. Still, I think those two are the ones with the most appeal - they photograph well and they can talk without being boring.

As for girls with public appeal....Alessandra and Adriana can't because they are T&A girls with little high fashion appeal. Miranda is close, but she's not good enough of a model - even though she is perfect physically.

I think it's time for a rebirth - but it's going to be a redefinition of the term. Just like the 90s supermodels redefined what it meant....they were pretty different from Verushka, Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy after all.

 

[Junee]

Another thing I noticed thats different from the current crop of top models is that they dont care to be Famous or Supermodels. After Gisele there are no Models that command such attention nor seek the attention.

Carmen Kass, Natalia, Daria, Raquel, Liya, KK, all have potential to be Larger than Life Supermodels but they dont want that type of limelight. Carmen has said in many interviews that she simply want to do her job to her best abilities but becoming a Paparazzi chased celebrity isnt what she wants. She likes staying in Estonia away from the industry and all the public attention. To be a Supermodel you have to lurn for the flashing bulbs, you have to deal with paps chasing you. You have to be at all the hot spots, You should date well known FAMOUS men...All the girls mentioned date wealthy, yet unknown business men not rock stars and movie actors.
We keep questioning what will it takes to jumpstart another Supermodel Revival well like I said in an earlier post. There has to be a new revolution, what defined Supermodel in the 80's and 90's wont define it currently. Just as Dovima, Jean, Twiggy, Donyale Luna, Lisa Fonssagrives & Naomi Sims defined their era, the Big Six defined their era and the upcomimg Supers will need to do something to define their era. Nowadays I do believe Victoria Secret and The Internet can help catapult a model into Stardom but like every one said here she must have the Star Quality, her body of work must be impressive and she should be a fixture in both arenas of the modeling world High fashion and Commercial. But first the girl must have the desire to be a Supermodel and do all the things required, to work towards that goal.

 

[alonsoJonathan]

[/B]

There have been no supermodels after Gisele. Not Natalia even. And certainly not Erin (please, how do these ideas even crop up).

Lara could be, but she's a little to alien. Freja has the potential but she is too angular. Still, I think those two are the ones with the most appeal - they photograph well and they can talk without being boring.

As for girls with public appeal....Alessandra and Adriana can't because they are T&A girls with little high fashion appeal. Miranda is close, but she's not good enough of a model - even though she is perfect physically.

I think it's time for a rebirth - but it's going to be a redefinition of the term. Just like the 90s supermodels redefined what it meant....they were pretty different from Verushka, Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy after all.

Freja n lara r two of the most boring models IMO. Most of their pictures are lifeless,cold pictures they really are boring. They might be on top of the fashion world but I mean c'mon lets b real.they r nothing else then HF models.they dont have that universal beauty

 

[agee]

To me if you are not generally recognized by the public then you are not a supermodel and in my book there have not been any supers since Kate, Gisele and, if she meets your criteria, Heidi. There are models that I consider demi-supermodels like Natalia, Daria, Adriana, Alessandra, Karolina, Lara and maybe Freja. Of those listed all but the last two have been in the game long enough that if it is going to happen then it would have, you can never say never, but something really spectacular would have to happen like Brad Pitt dumping Angelina Jolie to take up with her or she would have to star in an iconic TV commercial, it won't be print ad or ed because they don't get the mass exposure that "moving pictures" get.

In the current paradigm, I can't see more than two or three supers emerging in the foreseeable future, if that, and of the models who are demis / established, my money is Lara, Miranda and Freja along with newer models like Candice, Karlie and Chanel. Coco is weird because I think that she does things that I would consider as the right moves when it comes to the making of a supermodel, well everything except actually modeling.

If Rosie becomes generally recognized, it will be as an actress / film star and therefore I don't think that you can call her a supermodel anymore than you would call Charlize Theron or January Jones supermodels.

Actually I am on the fence about Miranda, because I think that she has "it" but while she is an A-list commercial model, she is not in the tip-top strata among VS models and in the high fashion realm, she has not gone beyond, "having a moment" status, perhaps she will, but she has not yet. So if I get to name models with unrealized it factor then Hailey Clauson, Lily Aldridge, Arizona Muse, Frida Gustavsson and Maryna Linchuk would be on my list.

 

[agee]

I am not a fan of modeling in the 00s, but one good thing about it is that it challenged out ideas about beauty, not that there weren't unconventional models before, but I do think that the supermodel era established glamazons as the standard when it comes to what makes a supermodel. Note that Kate Moss is an outlier on this front but when necessary, she cleans up pretty well.

 

[Junee]

^ I agree Trevor that Erin does fit that mold defined by Agee...I think Karen Elson also fits that mold too...She's been getting alot of press here in the USA due to her recent Album and Business Ventures in Nashville and lets not run down her Modeling accomplishments....

 

[jacquelineo]

I agree about Karen Elson. I think she has the potential to become more of a household name. To me she is getting close to the supermodel status. With her marriage to a rock superstar and her new music career.

I typically use my Mother as a reference to see what a models public status is. She can now pick out Karen Elson and KK (After her movies & Chuck appearances). However, she has no clue who Lara, Daria, Erin..etc

 

[Junee]

With the news of the Duran Duran Music video channeling the George Michael "Freedom" Video featuring: Naomi, Kate, Yasmin Le Bon, etc...do you all think this could actually start the Supermodel Revival....Trust me this video will catapult the Models back in the limelight...I just hope they cast newer Top Models like: Anja, Poly, Maryna, Jourdan, Raquel, Karlie, Joan, Isabeli, MariaCarla, etc
However I do wonder is Gisele going to be apart of it? Its not like she need any more exposure!

 

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Wow interesting... is it for 'Girl's Panic'? such a great song and the album I must say...
I think we only see British models in that video... or London based ones...

 

[CommanderTMugler]

I don't think it will do much effect, maybe in the fashion community a bit but not in other places. It'll get some attention because of Naomi but the others will just play second fiddle to them if they do chose top models and it'll just be a reharsh of something already done, to really establish supermodels together they need to constantly be out and about in the public eye. The only ones that do that right now are the VS Angels but even they don't get as much attention as supermodels did before.

 

[Eterna]

The End Of The Supermodel
May. 8 2011 - Kiri Blakeley

Last week, Forbes published its annual World’s Top Earning Models List. Gisele Bundchen, as she has for each
year of list’s existence, vastly out-earned her competitors, this time with an estimated $45 million.

Four years ago, I headed up the first World’s Top Earning Models list. Before that, models appeared on the annual
Celebrity 100 list along with musicians, actors, actresses, directors and other Hollywood entertainers.

At the time, this made sense. Models who appeared on the celebrity list, like Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington,
Christie Brinkley and Claudia Schiffer, seemed part of Hollywood.
They starred in movies and music videos, they dated or married movie stars, they cut singles, they were regulars
on talk shows, they attracted screaming mobs at malls. Everyone knew their names and faces—just like movie stars.

But by 2007, the definition of a supermodel was already beginning to change, and I was having trouble justifying
putting some of the top earning models on what was supposed to be a list of Hollywood entertainers. Heidi Klum
had a TV show, so fine. Gisele Bundchen and Kate Moss were incredibly famous, so fine. But Adriana Lima?
Alessandra Ambrosio? Carolyn Murphy? What did they do besides model? Who, besides those who followed
the fashion world closely, even knew who they were?

Thus was born The World’s Top Earning Models list. On this list a model could be, well, just a model. Here, there
was room for Estee Lauder face Hilary Rhoda, Lancome face Daria Werbowy and Calvin Klein muse Natalia
Vodianova. These girls didn’t do movies. They hardly ever appeared on TV, except for their own fashion ads. And,
except for the most fanatical modeling fans, no one had a clue what guys they were dating. Yet these ladies were
all at the top of their game and making millions. They needed a list of their own, and they got it.

Looking at the most recent models list, it’s clear to me that successful models are now even more removed from
Hollywood. Most of them are not household names—certainly, not in the way that Tyra Banks, Elle MacPherson or
Cindy Crawford were in their heyday (and still are).

As beautiful as the new girls are, the names Candice Swanepoel or Lara Stone just do not spark the same excitement
that the supermodel trio of Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell did in the early 1990s.
But a decade ago, cosmetic contracts began going to actresses, who figured out that starring in a lipstick ad wouldn’t
necessarily stop them from winning an Oscar (hello, Halle Berry). And today, pretty women who get well paid and attract
legions of fans for not much more than being pretty aren’t called supermodels—they’re called the Kardashians.

The supermodel era, as it was defined two decades ago, is dead.

In its place, however, there’s a more interesting model—one that has more in common with Wall Street than Hollywood.
These days, even the newest models have branched out into licensing deals that encompass everything from clothing
and jewelry to fragrances, furniture and food. In fact, a year after The World’s Top Earning Models list debuted, I headed
up The Most Entrepreneurial Supermodels list, which Forbes still runs.

Today, models may not have their own TV shows, starring roles in movies, or even movie star husbands—but they have
something better. They have the template for a multi-dimensional, multiple-platform career. Not to mention that the
supermodels of yesterday are as busy as ever. Many of them—such as Kathy Ireland, Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum—
now head up multi-million dollar or even billion dollar corporations.

So the question isn’t “Will the era of the supermodel ever return?” but “How long before we see a few of these
supermodels on The World’s Billionaires list?” I predict not too long.

forbes.com