Your List of "True Supermodels" and why.....

[Sweets]

i would add angela lindvall in addition to what everyone else has said. WHY DOES EVERYONE FORGET ABOUT ANGELA?!

 

[J'ador-DioR]

Naomi Campbell
Iman
Christy Turlington
Gisele Bundchen
Liya Kebede
Daria Werbowy
Natalia Vodianova
Karen Elson
Isabeli Fontana

Not specificly in that order but those models have/still are the most sought after models due to their versatility and some still enjoy a huge amount of success.

 

[happycanadian]

if you're including people like Liya, Daria, Natalia, Karen & Isabeli --- how can you not include Karolina?? I mean, sure you might not like her as much as the others, but she's certainly more of a SUPERMODEL (by the definition set up in the 90s) than any of those girls.

i always wonder why everyone always forgets about Eva Herzigova?!?!?
She was like HUGE famous in the early-mid 1990s and is STILL working and making fantastic campaigns. she's a goddess on the runway and is very well-known in the public as well.

 

[eternitygoddess]

True supermodels HAVE TO HAVE sex appeal to the MASS PUBLIC.

Karen Elson, Liya Kebede, Natalia V., Daria do not appeal to the general public. Heck I don't even think Liya can do sexy.

 

[J'ador-DioR]

Karolina has a VS contract. That' s probably the highlight of her modelling career. That doesn' t mean she can be considered a supermodel IMO. I mean sure she looks the part but her high fashion career wasn' t as succesfull as the models I have listed above.

My list is purely based on versatility. Those models have had incredible careers and some of them have been around for a very long time, others are succesfull both in high fashion and commercially. Being overtly "sexy" ( not being able to pull off another look) or having "mass appeal" cheapens a model IMO. Just look at Adriana Lima and all the others that resemble her .

 

[happycanadian]

i understand where you're coming from, J'ador, but you really need to do a little research. Karolina's high fashion career started almost 7 years ago (that's a fairly long time -- longer than Liya, Natalia, Daria). Also, she has had more covers of "high fashion magazines" (ie international Vogue, W, Bazaar, Elle, etc) and more "commercial" ones (GQ, Arena, American Photo, etc) than most of those girls. How many campaigns has Liya had? Isabeli? Natalia???? Natalia's CK contract is certainly no more significant than a VS one, and that's the only thing Natalia's had for the past few years. though she doesn't do as much now, KK did have campaigns with SOOO many major fashion houses and brands. and she walked in every show imaginable.

also, if you feel that "mass appeal cheapens a model", then how do you feel about Kate, Gisele, Naomi, Linda, Christy, Cindy, Claudia?? they had THE MOST mass appeal of ANY models. Karolina hasn't reached the mass recognition or appeal of any of THEM, but she certainly has more than Liya, Daria, Natalia, Isabeli or Karen (ALL of whom I really love as models, btw, *well except for Natalia*).

regardless, this thread is titled "Your list ..." so we are clearly just voicing our opinions and ours differ. that's cool.

 

[J'ador-DioR]

I doubt that Karolina has had more covers (Vogue,W, Bazaar) than let' s say Natalia or Karen. The fact that she has worked longer doesn' t really say anything. She was more of a runway girl at the start of her career. I have looked at her work and I don' t consider her to be versatile enough. She is incredibly good at pulling off the glamazon look which has landed her the VS contract.

The thing with mass appeal is it makes me lose interest in a model ( Naomi being an exception ). The allure just goes away and I think it also affects the work that the model does.

I forgot to add Raquel Zimmermann to my list . She is one of a kind because the longer she has worked, the hotter and the more sought after she became!.

 

[jennifer~]

also, i think kristin mcmenamy, carmen kass, shalom harlow, stella tennant, carolyn murphy and others like them also came close, but never reached the pinnacle of modeling.

Agreed, and I'd also like to specify Amber Valletta, Nadja Auermann and perhaps Karen Elson... on a related note, I feel Kristen alone deserves credit for bringing into fashion the look of "alien' beauty - if her bleached brows and the shock of hair which contrasted (deliberately, I assume) with her pallor sound familiar to the changes Karen Elson underwent at the launch of her career - I'd blame it on more than coincidence...

As for top-tier supermodels? Lisa Fonssagrives, Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton, Gia, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Kate Moss, Christy Turlington, Iman, Gisele, Claudia Schiffer, Lauren Hutton... that's already more than I thought I could name, right there...

 

[Cindylover1969]

Cindy, certainly. Elle as well; and Naomi. But yes, the term's become debased now...

 

[PussyLee]

Why the heck is Christy Brinkley (sorry christy) alwasy addressed, even to this day, as a Supermodel??? Her claim to fame is her SI covers and Covergirl, right? I mean, come on......

 

[happycanadian]

As for top-tier supermodels? Lisa Fonssagrives, Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton, Gia, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Kate Moss, Christy Turlington, Iman, Gisele, Claudia Schiffer, Lauren Hutton... that's already more than I thought I could name, right there...

bringin' it old school, eh?

and J'Ador, in terms of "versatility", i find it difficult to argue such a thing. it literally comes down to nothing but pure opinion because what i see in a picture is something different than you might see. the only thing concrete to go on is contracts/campaigns, etc.

Karen Elson is like a chameleon (sp?). she's an absolutely brilliant model and i love her. BUT, she can't do anything commercial whatsoever. her sexiness comes from an artsy perspective that is mostly appreciated by women and gay men. like was mentioned earlier, when she was in the VS Fashion show in 2001, she just didn't exude any sexuality at all, at least not in the commercial sense that a girl must possess if she is to be a true supermodel (again, only my opinion. but if you look at the SUPERS from the early 90s, they all had a real womanly sexiness to them).

anyway, i suspect that our own basic ideas of what constitutes "supermodel" are just fundamentally different, so we'll have to agree to disagree. but it did make for interesting conversation, so thanks.

 

[Urban Stylin]

^Excellent list.

But I do think Karolina Kurkova should be considered a supermodel.

I agree, she comes in right after Gisele. Natalia was supposed to be her main competitor but she hasnt really conquered the commercial world. Her Loreal ads didnt cause much of a ripple.

My list
All the original supermodels including Iman, Bevelry,Tyra, Eva H and ElleM
Gisele, Karolina, Alek(u just need to say her 1st name and she revolutionalised the fashion industry probably the same way Gemma did on a lesser scale),
then theres the fashion industry supermodels;Daria,Liya, Carmen, Angela, Raquel, Gemma, Carolyn, Isabelli, ...who have reached the peak of the high fashion world but totally failed to capture the commercial world.

The supermodels that the fashion world doesnt aknowledge who are well known by the masses, earn more than the high fashion girls but are never seen in vogue eds and high fashion campaigns. There include Adriana, Heidi,and most of the top VS girls

 

[TheGlassAngel]

Isabeli is very lucky, one of those few models that are able to shift between the mainstream world and the high fashion universe.

 

[PussyLee]

^^^ I don't think Isabelli is known that much in mainstream.......maybe face recognizability the least, but she's no household name.

 

[eternitygoddess]

^Agreed.

 

[PussyLee]

Janice Dickinson, Worlds Oldest True Supermodel!!!!

 

[Royal-Galliano]

I'd add Karen Elson... Just because.

 

[Joseph26]

Janice Dickinson, Worlds Oldest True Supermodel!!!!

Is she older than Twiggy?

 

[PussyLee]

Is she older than Twiggy?

Who knows, but Ms Dickinson is Very Happening right to this minute, where as Twiggy is not!

 

[Galini]

Isabeli Fontana
Marija Vujovic
Natalia Vodianova

Gisele, Kate, Gemma, Daria, Karolina are all look quite ugly to me.