The Return of the Supermodel

When you think of the word ‘supermodel’, you think of Gianni Versace sending Cindy, Claudia, Linda, Naomi and Helena down the runway in 1991. You think Elle and Sports Illustrated, you think Tyra and her signature walk bouncing down 25 runways in her first week in Paris, Linda Evangelista and the haircut that meant she could utter those famous words. You know, something about not waking up for less than $10,000 a day. You think Herb Ritts editorials in Vogue. You think pure and utter excess.

And then, just like that, they were gone. Replaced by celebrities and a slew of skinny Eastern European models whose bodies resembled that of a pre-teen, albeit a tall one. So what changed? And where did they even go in the first place?

These models didn’t need their last names. The 80s thrived, and the 90s begun with their faces plastered on every billboard, starring in every major campaign and gracing the covers of the major fashion magazines worldwide. There’s Cindy Crawford posing naked, bar a fluffy grey hat, in PETA’s groundbreaking ‘I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur’ campaign. There’s Stephanie Seymour lounging around in her underwear for Victoria’s Secret, when there was no store, no online shopping, no million dollar fashion shows broadcast around the world – only a seasonal catalogue in the mail. Claudia Schiffer for Guess?, Christy Turlington for Maybelline and Naomi Campbell as Vogue’s first black cover girl.

As products of a society prone to excess, they epitomised social values of a Western world obsessed with fame, wealth and beauty. The Supermodels were seen as the pinnacle of femininity. The 80′s were all about power: women rising through the career ranks and earning their own money. Women wanted to be taken seriously- a no holds barred attitude with killer red lips and nails and the power suit. 

By the time the early 90′s had set in, however, our social conscience was starting to change. Economic times were difficult, and as always, our socio-cultural ideas and needs changed to reflect the economic and political uncertainty. Beauty and fashion trends shifted – the hangover from the excess of the eighties was fading.

The mid-90′s saw Calvin Klein pioneer the minimalist movement, using his muse, a young, gangly Kate Moss. Suddenly, the curves and classic femininity of the Supers no longer worked with the androgyny that was replacing it. A new breed of women came to be idolized; scarily thin young girls with protruding bones that reflected the gloom & doom of the grunge music movement. The world was changing, and fashion, as it has done since the Romans were in togas, reflected this.

There was no place for the Supers and what they represented anymore. As Calvin Klein famously said in 1996, “I don’t think people are that interested in models anymore.”

Then celebrities began popping up on magazine covers, replacing the traditional model cover girls. Constantly promoting new films or albums, celebrities were eager for the coverage and there was no shortage of new faces for covers. Coupled with a boom in tabloid magazine sales, celebrities were everywhere. Fashion houses could use a celebrity with something to promote, a film, a new album, and put them in their campaigns.

Now there has been a shift in the modeling landscape and, slowly but surely, the Supers have crept back into the spotlight. We’re in recession, the pendulum of female beauty is swinging away from models one runway away from a heart attack. A desire to look timeless and sophisticated and fashionable sits alongside a desire to know we’re getting bang for our buck. In volatile times we traditionally look to names and faces we trust. So what do the major fashion houses do? They re-cast the original supermodels. Women whose faces we know, trust and admire. Unlike celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan, who has fronted campaigns for Mui Mui and Jill Stuart, there is little chance of seeing one of the Supers papped stumbling drunk out of a club in the wee hours of the morning, sans underwear. We’ve seen Claudia for Chanel, Christy for Escada, Naomi for YSL and Linda for Prada. The September issue of the great fashion glossies, long considered the most influential issue of the year, welcomed back Eva Herzigova, Stephanie Seymour and Stella Tennent.

The return of the original supermodels welcomes a nice change. Here are women, real women, many with children, looking fabulous in fabulous clothes. They are the same age that the giant fashion houses are targeting. This makes sense, unlike a then-16 Gemma Ward modeling for Hermes. The appeal of a glorious gown worn by a shapeless teenager holding a bag that is worth more than the house she grew up in has always seemed a little strange.

The CEO of Escada, Bruno Salzer, said that their choice of using Christy Turlington in his new campaigns were a no brainer because “she is a woman who brings meaning as well as beauty.” Her business ventures include the Nuala clothing line, Sundari beauty products, and her association with the anti-poverty organization CARE impressed him. “She is very much in tune with the key social trends of our time.”

The past decade has seen a handful of models who have reached the standing of the original Supermodels by becoming household names. Women like Gisele Bundchen and of course, Kate Moss, have remained top earning models and have represented hundreds of brands. It is a huge feat to have such longevity in the constantly changing world of fashion as well as staying relevant to the general public. The closest thing we have to a new supermodel could perhaps be Agyness Deyn. Her English eccentricity and seeming authenticity has seen her grace the pages of both fashion and tabloid magazines with her endless roster of famous friends and party goers. It remains to be seen if her blend of identifiable quirkiness and scenester reputation will stand the test of time or simply fade away when the current trend of hipster cool inevitably ends.

And for aspiring young models? Will their careers be over now the original Supermodels are back in the game? Again, not likely. Perhaps the real question is if it is possible for models today, in a society and culture governed by instant gratification and change, to reach the iconic, enduring status of the Supermodel.

Vogue covers courtesy of Vogue.com

Claudia Schiffer for Chanel image from Frillr.com