The Phenomenon Of The Supermodel
By Sarah Stefanson September 15, 2009
Photo: Gisele Bundchen, Wikimedia Commons
What makes a supermodel? Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a supermodel as “a famous and successful fashion model,” but that description could include many models that most people would not consider to be among the ranks of supermodels. A supermodel is highly paid, has walked runways for world-renowned designers, has worked for top labels and brands, is a household name and is instantly recognizable. Supermodels appear on magazine covers, in high profile ad campaigns and on glitzy runways around the world.
There are a variety of origin stories for the term supermodel. Michael Gross, author of Model: The Ugly Business of Beautiful Women, reports that the first use of the word was by an agent named Clyde Matthew Dessner in his book So You Want To Be A Model! The Art of Feminine Living. It can be also be argued that a writer for the Chicago Tribune first used the word in 1942 in an article titled “Super Models are Signed for Fashion Show.”
The 1960s and 1970s saw the word become more and more common as The Salisbury Daily Times, Glamour magazine, The Chicago Daily Defender, The Washington Post, Mansfield News Journal, The Chicago Tribune, The Advocate and Vogue all used the term to describe certain models including Twiggy, Margaux Hemingway and Beverly Johnson. During this time, models began to score million-dollar contracts and the public started to recognize their names.
Janice Dickinson, the sharp tongued, opinionated model who has been a judge on America’s Next Top Model and stars in a reality series called The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, claims to have coined the term supermodel in 1979. At the time she was working around the clock and her concerned agent, Monique Pilar of Elite Model Management was encouraging her to take a break. Dickinson’s book No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the World’s First Supermodel, contains this quote: “Monique begged me to slow down. ‘Who do you think you are?’ she asked in her thick French accent. ‘Supermon?’ ‘No,’ I said. ‘Supermodel.’ And lo and behold! I’d coined a phrase!”
Dickinson also purports to be the first supermodel, although this title has also been bestowed upon Gia Carangi and Lisa Fonssagrives.
The 1980s and 1990s saw the true rise of the supermodel as fashion designers began advertising on television and billboards, while famous models like Gia Carangi, Cheryl Tiegs, Christie Brinkley, Paulina Porizkova and Elle MacPherson began using their image and their names to market major brands. By the 90s, supermodels were everywhere in the media. Once just pretty faces on the runway or in magazines, supermodels were now interviewed on talk shows and featured in gossip columns. They were celebrities that partied with film and music stars.
Supermodels also began to earn unprecedented amounts of money in the 90s. Linda Evangelista famously quipped to Vogue, “We don’t wake up for less than $10,000 a day.”
The term supermodel was bandied about often during the 90s, but there are six models acknowledged as the original supermodels from this time. The “Big Six” were Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford, Kate Moss, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington.
The late 90s saw a decline in the supermodel craze. Some blame the slump on designers’ reactions to the high and mighty attitudes of models that expected to be treated like royalty. It became difficult for models to attain the kind of status that the Big Six enjoyed earlier in the decade.
Today’s supermodels don’t enjoy the kind of complete mainstream media attention that the supermodels of the 90s achieved. In order to remain relevant and in the public eye, some models, like Heidi Klum and Tyra Banks, have turned to reality television.
These days, Victoria’s Secret, the wildly successful lingerie retailer, is responsible for discovering and promoting many of the models that eventually earn the title of supermodel. Current and former Victoria’s Secret Angels include Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks, Gisele Bundchen, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Karolina Kurkova, Miranda Kerr, Marisa Miller and Doutzen Kroes.
In May 2007, Vogue’s cover story declared the return of the supermodel, naming Hilary Rhoda, Sasha Pivovarova, Agyness Deyn, Coco Rocha, Doutzen Kroes, Chanel Iman, Lily Donaldson, Raquel Zimmermann, Caroline Trentini and Jessica Stam as the new crop of supermodels.
Still some argue that the age of the supermodel is forever past. In Fivetonine magazine, Claudia Schiffer declared that she doubts there could ever be another group of supermodels like the Big Six, saying, “In order to become a supermodel one must be on all the covers all over the world at the same time so that people can recognize the girls. That is, for now, not possible, not least because the advertising industry is very much taken nowadays by pop stars and actresses. Supermodels like we once were don’t exist anymore.”
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Submitted on September 15, 2009 in Industry News.
Sarah is our Western Canadian correspondent. She recently left a long-standing position as editor and writer for TheSoko.com, DriverSense.com & LiveDress.com to focus on book and novel writing. Sarah continues contribute weekly articles to AskMen.ca and Models & Moguls. Sarah thinks she might have been a model if it weren’t for the blessing of Slavic hips and thighs.
Sarah Stefanson has contributed 64 articles to Models & Moguls.
