i LOVE this thread. it's so fascinating to see everybody's different choices.
i'm subscribed to this thread, so clearly i've posted my choices at some point in the past. but i don't remember whom i chose. so perhaps it'd be different than now, or the same.
so i'm thinking of this as "OF ALL TIME". meaning -- even if i haven't particularly enjoyed this model over the past, oh, 8 years (see number 2), during the first years of her career she was my favourite above all others. and truly was the model that started my model obsession.
1) Karolina Kurkova - that i know wouldn't have changed. she's my absolute fav of all time. i fell in love the moment she opened the 2001 VSFS and i've never felt that *POW* since. she's IT. her personality, that SMILE! her incredible presence on the runway; that walk! so graceful!!! and my god her body is perfection! and recently she's become an absolute red carpet fashion icon and so i have one more reason to adore her. she, for me, defines what a SUPERMODEL should be.
2) Tyra Banks - yes, today she's more like an annoying drag queen than an actual model. but c. 1996-2000? she was EVERYTHING. those covers of SI are iconic, her work for VS, her hosting tv shows and being on Fresh Prince of Bel-air. all of it. Tyra was my first model love.
3) Eva Herzigova. there's something so perfect above Eva. the way she blends insane sex appeal and sensuality, with incomparable glamour and elegance... it's a talent and a gift that you can't teach. you either have that quality or you don't, and she has it. and it's MAGNIFICENT.