Giana Capialbi '24
As the biggest month of the year in the fashion world, September was filled with shows, parties, and news regarding all of its glamorous events. September was especially big for supermodels of years past, ending up on the most important Vogue cover of the year, 30 years past their working days in the industry.
Christy Burns (nee Turlington), Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, and Cindy Crawford took the world’s attention back in the 1990s when they became the faces of the fashion industry. As stars in George Michael’s music video for “Freedom! '90,” they also closed the Versace Fall/winter 1991 runway show lip-syncing the song (pictured below).
(From left to right) Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, and Christy Burns at the 1991 Versace show.
That moment took high fashion from a niche hobby to mainstream entertainment along with music, television, and film. To put it shortly, they're the reason why we see fashion the way it is today. And when they did become the object of the world’s attention, that spotlight never truly faded.
Back together again for the first time since their glory days, the Supers are back on the cover of Vogue and are the stars of a new Apple TV+ documentary. The Supermodels is a 4 part series that dives deep into the style community in the late ’80s to mid-’90s, and how these four then-barely adults took the world by storm. Their cover story reflects on their wild past as supermodels and discusses their current roles as moms and heads of their own companies.
The poster for the documentary and a shot from their Vogue article.
Because of their newfound fame in the ‘90s, they and other Supermodels of the time such as Yasmeen Ghauri, Carla Bruni, and Kate Moss were seen on late-night talk shows, gossip columns, and plastered on bedroom walls and hair salons everywhere. They all had something special and unique to each of them, which is what drew people to them in the first place. Even with all their unique individualities, they worked together seamlessly. They were seen together in fashion shows, magazines, and billboards all over the world, and their star power only added to their talent at their jobs, not overcome it.
There has been a big request by fashion lovers to bring back the fashion industry from the days of the Supers, when shows and designs were “more interesting and fun.” Slowly but surely, more elements from the ‘90s era have been coming back.
For Chanel’s Spring 2022 Ready-To-Wear Collection, they had photographers lined up around the runway, snapping photos of the models going down the catwalk just like they did in the 1990s.
More models from the 1990s and 2000s have begun appearing on runways and in campaigns recently, such as ‘90s Supermodel Claudia Schiffer closing the Versace Spring 2024 show, and 2000s models Daria Werbowy and MariaCarla Boscono working with Gucci again.
Naomi Campbell is one of the only Supermodels of the Core 4 who has consistently worked in the industry and never took much of a break.
But that isn’t the first time the group has returned to their old stomping grounds. Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford closed the Versace Spring 2018 Collection, 20 years after Gianni Versace’s death, to celebrate his legacy.
Claudia Schiffer with Donatella Versace wearing her closing look for the 2024 show, and (from left to right) Carla Bruni, Claudia Schiffer, Donatella Versace, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, and Helena Christensen closing the runway in 2017.
In an industry that is as ever-changing as fashion, it is a feat that these women have managed to stand the test of time. Even with all the models of this newer era, they are still relevant and people are dying to know about them and how to be like them. Their documentary is out now, and you can find their full cover story on vogue.com.
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