wow. thank you sugarmomma for holding up my end of the argument. lol.
i agree with everything you have said --- it's not that these girls are without personalities, it's just that they are GIRLS. they are shy, awkward, uncharismatic, non-dynamic young children.
naomi was young when she started, but she was at least 20 when she finally became a SUPERMODEL, and cindy was even older, so was linda and christy. these were WOMEN and they had something that young girls could idolize and aspire too.
what is SUPER about a hana, or an elise, or gemma, lily, etc etc. they don't have the OOMPH that naomi or any of the originals had. it's that special thing -- that character -- that makes a supermodel. and that is why people put them on magazine covers, because the population saw that there was something special, something untouchable and unreachable in their status. when models are all awkward looking young girls, there is nothing to desire, nothing superior about them. anyone can be a model now if they are tall and thin. so people no longer look up to them as something special.
this is why every once in a while you will get a Heidi Klum, or Tyra, Karolina or Gisele ---- women with charisma and ultra gorgeous looks that translates to the mass audience. they still sell magazines.
i think right now is a celebrity obsessed time, and that's obviously why a sienna or gwyneth will sell more covers than a model, but at least if the models had more presence and charisma (a la naomi et al) then they would have a better shot at fronting the mags.