FACES OF A GENERATION: Dovima

 

"Definately not the girl next door..."

In an era which witnessed the rise of consumerism, and a huge shift in the socio-ecoomics of the Western World, the rise of the supermodel truly became ensconced within popular culture. The likes of mass media, television, films and even rock n' roll stars who dated them, the model became 'The Face' of a new certain type of woman. If you anaylsed the way in which this effected the endless levels of the public consciouss, we could be here forever. However, there were a dozen supermodels of the 1950's, epseically in America, which rose to such heights of popularity that they have become synonymous with the era's style and "look".

One of these supermodels was Dorothy Virginia Margaret Juba, who composed the first two letters of her three given names to reinvent herself as 'DOVIMA'. All she needed was just one name to signify her status and importance in the world of fashion and advertising. Her story is like many of the supermodels of their day, but one that ended in tragedy.

 

Images by Tony Vaccaro 1957. 

Born in the Jackson Heights neighbourhood of Queens, New York in 1927 to a mixed background, Dovima came to the world amidst the Great Depression and the world of the flappers. Her father was a Polish-American policeman and her mother was Irish, thus giving her a somewhat European grace to her image and discipline. However, in her childhood she suffered rheumatic fever and after being bedrideen, it was widely rumoured she crated this persona of 'Dovima' as an imaginary friend. Regardless, she was known for being seen dressing and strutting around in her mothers clothes - hinting at a future career of bringing this model like persona to the forefront.

Selection of Vogue & Harpers Bazaar covers featuring Dovima.

Dovima never thought of herself as photographic, and she was quaoted as saying 'I never thought myself of as a beautiful woman. As a child, I was a gangly, skinny thing and I had this ugly front tooth.' However, many of the photographers who she worked with later in her career would dismiss this self-deprecation, with her most favoured, the legendary Richard Avedon saying: 'she the most unconventional and remarkable beauty of her time'. And he was right. Dovima was of her time. This sort of regal heir graced around her, wrapping itself like a cashmere scarf, giving her this allurement which photographers like Avedon, Irving Penn and Horst P. Horst admired.

 

All photos by Horst P. Horst, from 1947 - 1954 for Vogue and Harper's Bazaar ©.

Dovima's discovery is one much like many of the original supermodels. Married to her first husband of Irish descent, Jack Golden, whom she met whilst he was a border at her parents house, they were at the Automat when they walked out onto the sidewalk in Manhatten and a woman approached them. She worked for Vogue and asked Dovima if she woukd like to model some photos. A little unsure but due to the potential money she could earn, Dovima accepted. The next day she met the iconic master Irving Penn and began doing some test shots. At Vogue they called her the Mona Lisa Model, as she had this mysterious allure about her and kept her mouth closed due to her insecurity about her front tooth. When she signed up with Ford models, Jerry Ford said 'She was the super-sophisticated model in a sophisitcated time. Definitely not the girl next door'.  Just one of the many quotes that was publicized about Dovima, giving her this star quality and attraction that made headlines in all the fashion magazines of the day. As soon as Vogue published her photos, her fame and attention swept acros the country and soon the couturiers of Europe beckoned.

 

Dovima With The Elephants, by Richard Avedon at the Cirque D'Hiver in Paris, 1955. Photographed for Harpers'z Bazaar in the first commercial dress designed by Yves Saint Laurent for Dior. One of, if not THE most iconic fashion photograph's of all time.

 

As I declared in the first post on supermodels, on Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn, it usually takes one photo that cements a supermodels legacy and power. A particular image that holds true to not only fashion, and photography itself, but the woman in front of the camera - and gives significance to a generation. You could say that Dovima's most iconic photo is one of the most expensive photos, famous, and iconic that has ever been taken.

Harper's Bazaar was doing a story on Parisian couture in 1955, and focusing on the new man behind Dior, at the time - Yves Saint Laurent. He had this new idea for fashion, he was fresh. young and different, and Harper's Bazaar wanted to not only juxtapose this new talent with a sophisticated model, but also in a somewhat unique setting against a backdrop of fun and animals. So they hired Richard Avedon to take her to the Crique D'Hiver in Paris and photographed her with the mighty strength of the Elephants. This image truly put Dovima in the spotlight and Avedon too, and they both became synomous with each other. The power this image held came to fruition, when it was sold at auction in 2010, more than 50 years later - for a whopping $1,151,000: proving that true style lasts forever. 

All photos by Richard Avedon, Dovima's favourite photographer and one who she worked with for over a decade.  ©

In the 1950s Dovima soon became The Face of what women wanted out of fashion, and could appeal to the masses. She didn't need to do nude photgoraphy, or have any controversial moments to cement her legacy - she had an ability to show graceful ease and poise with just a single photo, and bridge the gap between the normal working class of Brooklyn with the hierarchy of haute couture. However, she didn't take life too serious, nor her career, and in 1957 she was approached by Director Stanley Donen to appear in the latest Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire musical - Funny Face. 

In this film she plays a ditzy and hilarious model called Marion, who is the covergirl favourite of the Kay Thompson's fashion magazine 'Quality'. The whole film is a somewhat comedy about the fashion world, but also a tribute to it. Avedon even did the photography and cinematic titles for the film, giving it that true sophistication it needed to stop it being silly. The film's story itself mirrors Dovima rise to stardom, when Audrey's character is found in a Manhatten shop and photographed by Fred Astaire - his role loosely based on that of Avedon. She then goes onto become the toast of society, Paris and New York, and becomes a celebrity. Dovima, on the other hand, has a  somewhat minor role in the film - however, the comedy comes from her voice more than anything . With a strong Jackson Heights twang, tt was over the top but still really funny and enjoyable to watch even now.

On the set of Funny Face, photographed by Richard Avedon with Audrey Hepburn.

In terms of her importance within the world of modelling itself, Dovima went onto become one of the highest paid models of her day. Known for being "Dollar a minute girl" she was making $60 an hour for Ford Models, but due to stiff competition with other famous models of the time, like Barbara Mullen, Suzy Parker, and Anne St. Marie, in the late 1950's her popularity seemed to wain. When she married her second husband, Allan Murray, she had a daughter called Alison in 1958, begining a new family away from the camera. Unfortauntetly, her marriage did not last and sadly in 1963 they divorced and she became penniless. He took all her money and squandered it, leaving her with nothing.

"The idea of beauty stood for the extension of the aristocratic view of women as ideals. They could be dreams, something of a surreal object to look up to. Dovima fits those proportions well." Richard Avedon said about working with Dovima. These two images fit that description perfectly.

As they say, desperate times call for desperate measures, and with no money Dovima had to try and find work in television. She appeared in famous shows such as 'My Favourite Martian' and 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E' but that career was swiftly over as it began. She even thought about becoming an agent for models, which she did try, but that too was unsucessful. In the 1970s with no other option she had to move from New York and live with her retired parents in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She then took up a job at  the most unlikely of place's - a Pizza Parlour. It is sad to think the woman who dominated couture and magazines for over a decade, the model with the Elephants that epitomized fashion for a whole era, had her career end so tragically and became that of a mere waitress. Though she got married again in the 1980s, she was widowed by her husband and she herself began to get ill. 

In May, 1990, Dovima died of liver cancer. Her death shocked the fashion world, but moreso due to how she had left the spotlight, and seem to have faded into obscutity. When details emerged of how her husbands had left with her with no money, and the sensibilities of saving a new career and Plan B away from the world of modelling did not happen, it proved that in the fashion world you could be used up and spat out like it was nothing.

Dovima in colour, by various photographers in the 1950s.

 

Though finances played a part in her retirement, and having a family, she was also quoted on saying why she retired as saying: 'I didn't want to wait untill the camera turned cruel'. Referencing how many supermodels came and went, and many whom lasted only a few years untill the fashion world got bored with them. Something that has occured for almost 90 years. Unfortunately that is how the word of fast fashion accepts these muses and it is only in lucky situations where a model can retain her status and popularity into their later life - for example the likes of Twiggy and even Kate Moss (who through controversy has still remained famous and adored).

Dovima was one of The Faces of her generation - like Avedon said, an idea - a surreal object whom became untouchable yet attractive to millions of women. She was an idea of the sophisticated woman who could travel the world and look chic anywhere, anytime and unafraid of how . When I personally look back at her legacy and iconic images, I see the epitome of 1950s elegance, I see that idea of a new woman for her generation. That lost era and time where style, fashion, popular culture and true sophsitication all merged and became one. That is not the case now, as we are in this new age of non-binary, political correctness, avant garde craziness. However, Dovima still shows that her popularity and status is still remembered now, and looked up to. Her face appears regularly in coffee table books on designers such as Balencaiaga, Dior and others whom she worked with. She also appears in photography exhibitions, and as stated before, her image has been sold for millions.

But it will be her standing in a beautifully simple Yves Saint Laurent dress, with a silk ribbon wrapped around her waist, at the circus, with a herd of Parisian elephants, photographed by Richard Avedon that will remain her most enduring and remembered image.

Dovima

1927 - 1990.

"She was the last of the great elegant, aristocratic beauties..."

FACES OF A GENERATION: Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn

"A form in space"

To start our new series of blog posts entitled 'Faces of a Generation', we thought, why not start at the very beginning with the first supermodel - Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn. 

Born Lisa Bernstone in a town called Uddevalla, Sweden, to parents who were both doctors, Lisa grew up amidst the typical Scandinavian landscape of fjords, mountains, lakes and forests. Her parents were very cultured, and enjoyed taking Lisa on trips around Europe, to visit the museums and artistic spots of the capitals. Something that may have sparked her interest in the likes of fashionable places such as Paris and Milan.

 

All photos by Horst. P. Horst ©

It was clear, at a young age, Lisa was very artistic and creative. She took up dancing, painting and sculpting, the latter something she returned to later after she retired from modelling. The disciplined dance training she experienced served her well, something that is evident in the graceful photos taken of Lisa by her future husband Irving Penn. Though her parents had not set out a career for her, per sae, they wanted Lisa to attend finishing school 'so that I was prepared to become a housewife' she was quoted as saying. However, when she was old enough, Lisa left the resort town she grew up in, for Stockholm, to study dancing - her true passion.

 

'The eyes are the window to the soul' by Fernard Fonssagrives ©

 
There, she studied under Mary Wigman, who believed in the pscyhologcial aspect of dancing and the movement of the body in a space, something that contributed to Lisa's development in how she become comfortable and confident with her body. Even posing for nudes, which at the time, was quite controversial, though these were always done with almost sculptural 'Grecian' form by the likes of Horst. Nevertheless, Lisa then went onto studying art and sculpture and moved to Paris, and at the same time enrolled in a classical dance course - ballet. 

It was when she lived in the French capital, that Lisa met her first husband - Fernand Fonssagrives. He was her dance tutor but soon swopped her off her feet (no pun intended). For all that romance, misfortune crept upon Fernands career and it was prematurely ended. Whilst on holiday, he was injured in a diving accident, and of the understanding he would never dance again, and left bed-ridden, he soon had a new interest and hobby come into his life. Whilst he recuperated, Lisa gave him a Rolleiflex camera, thus introducing her husband to his new career - fashion photography. Many years after they divorced, Fernand later went onto become of the highest paid photographers in New York.

The stars may as well have been aligned, as fate had both he and Lisa find misfortune turn to advantage. As with accident and illness led to a new life for both of them. With Fernand's new photographic eye, he began taking photos of his wife, turning her into the words first supermodel.  They both soon began touring Europe, as the glamorous artist and his muse.

Lisa by various photographers © copyright reserved.

Never wanting to let the dancer inside of her fade, Lisa was well known for quoting, in regards to her legacy, as 'modelling is just still dancing' - for she recognized modelling as a means to use her body in almost static still life form... yet with the graceful ease of a trained dancer. Moving her body in the ways of a classical ballet, that poise and decorum from being trained by the Mary Wigman school, helped make her appeal on the front cover of magazines and as a muse to photographers.

While in Paris, in 1936, she was discovered in an elevator, of all places, by Willy Maywald, a well known photographer of his day, and he asked her to model some photos for French Vogue. This is just one of the many typical stories attributed to how supermodels were 'discovered', whether it be Dovima as she walked a Manhattan sidewalk window shopping, or Dorian Leigh whilst she worked on cheesy B-Movies at a film studio set. It was with these mythic stories that helped make these supermodels mystique seem to give them a veil of almost untouchable quality.

Like most "myths" Lisa's discovery has been questioned and mis-quoted over the years, but regardless, it became her big break. When Willy sent his photos into the offices at Vogue, it was the infamous Horst. P. Horst who saw them and wanted to test her in some of his own photos. Thus starting her career with Vogue.

 

 Vogue Covers from 1940 - 1952.  © Conde Nast

It usually takes one photograph to cement a supermodel and her career and influence on the public. If its Amber Valetta 'Angel in New York' series by Peter Lindbergh, Cindy Crawfords infamous Pepsi advert, or Naomi Campbell riding Elephants and racing Cheetahs by Jean-Paul Goude - there is generally a photograph or series of them that comes to mind with a supermodel. With Lisa's blend of still-form dancing, and European sense of style, it seem perfect that she would be pictured at the Eiffel Tower by the renowned Erwin Blumenfweld.

The classic image of her precariously dancing on the edge of the magnifcent structure in 1939, helped become a new image of romance for Paris, prior to it's occupation. With this iconic image, her career as a model had really taken off. She soon began travelling the world for the likes of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, and was photographed by the legends of their day - such as Man Ray, George Hoyningen-Huene, Richard Avedon, and as mentioned previously, Irving Penn - the man whom would become her husband.

Published in French Vogue, May 1939, the now iconic image of Lisa dancing on the edge of the Eiffel Tower - with no health and safety in those days, by Erwin Blumenfeld. She said at the time 'For some reason this sitting didn't worry me at all, I was young, strong and athletic.' © Copyright Conde Nast.

  By the time Lisa crossed the Atlantic and arrived in New York in the 1940's, Time magazine reported her as being "the highest paid, highest praised and highest fashion model in the business", something she didn't necessarily let go to her head.  She would sometimes refer to herself as "just a good clothes hanger", and always remained that she saw herself as a dancer, not a mannequin or a model. Nethertheless, her legacy was also cemented again when in September 1949, she appeared on the front cover of Time, the first model in the world to do so.

 

 

The front cover story of Lisa for Time magazine, 1949 © Time Inc.

In New York, Lisa discovered that modelling was a much more structured and organised business than it was back home in Europe - which was more relaxed and liberal, especially in terms of nudity and expressive freedom. She enrolled with one of the leading agencies, John Robert Powers, and began advertising for well known brands such as Tresemme and Kramer.

But something happened that in 1947 that would changer her life. In that year, Vogue commissioned the exceptional and well-respected Irving Penn to take the now famous image of 'The Twelve Most Photographed Models in the World'. This was the first time Lisa and Irving met, and upon this meeting he sweetly remarked: "I loved her when I first set eyes on her."

 The set where one of the most famous and brilliant photographers of the day, met the worlds first supermodel and future wife. 

'The 12 Most Photographed Models' ©. [take a deep breath] the models being: Meg Mundy, Marilyn Ambrose, Helen Bennett, Dana Jenney, Betty McLauchlen, Lisa Fonssagrives, Lily Carlson, Elizabeth Gibbons, Muriel Maxwell, Kay Hernan, Andrea Johnson, and Dorian Leigh. (Many of these we have featured on our Instagram)

According to sources at the time, the 'intensity of their feelings for one another had to be held in check', especially as Lisa was still married to Fernand at the same time she was sitting for Penn. It is unknown if a somewhat glamorous move-like affair took place, but for understandable reasons, Lisa and Irving did not see each other for another 2 years afterwards. 

After this, it was inevitable that Lisa's marriage to Fernand was not going to last, and due to Lisa growing restless with shouldering the burden of greater responsability, finacially and work wise, they divorced in 1950.

 

Lisa by FAR LEFT: Clifford Coffin, BOTH MIDDLE TOP & BOTTOM: Frances McLaughlling-Gill, FAR LEFT TOP: Richard Rutledge, FAR LEFT RIGHT: Horst P. Horst, FAR LEFT BOTTOM: Louise Dahl-Woolfe. copyright reserved ©.

 After her divorce to Fernand, Lisa began working with Penn once more, and after many sittings, their romance soon returned and developed, naturally, into marriage. Penn held his wife on a high pedestal, quoted as saying "She taught me so much, and not just about fashion." It is clear they both adored each other, and this shows when she returned to Paris and he began photographying her for the haute couture season for designers such as Dior and Balenciaga. 

All photos by Irving Penn ©.

 Soon after their marriage, in 1952, Lisa gave birth to their son Tom, and only returned to modelling interminttently. However, her creative urge was not diminished, and she began designing her own fashion in 1953. Though she was greatly admired for her designs, it is a highly competitve industry and she never was able to sell her clothes in the same marketting gap as the giants of couture of the 1950s.

Though her days of being a dancer and model were soon behind her, Lisa did not give up on her artistic sensibilities, and began sculpting at their house on Long Island in her own studio. She also began painting, and in 1968, and into the 1980's, she became the subject of exhibitons of her work and won the praise of New York's tough art critics.

All photos by Irving Penn ©.

Lisa's career may have ended by the time the early 90s came, however, her legacy was and still has remained iconic. Not just because she was the first 'supermodel' and set a standard for how models can become household names, it was because she was of a time that is now lost. She seemed to fit within the right sort of contrasting parisian-cum-new yorker sense of sophistication, which was the mode for the day.

Sadly, the glamour and elegance of the 1930s, 40s and especially the 50s - has now gone.  But, the reason why I admire Lisa so much, is because, when you look at her life, it was one of pure talent, timing, and creative genius. She knew what was right for her at the right time.  She knew how to take the lessons she learnt and apply them to her craft, whether that be modelling, designing, painting or sculpting. She is also admired for having a career in modelling remain so long, when many models of the time, and even now, generally last a few years. Lisa was still able to be in demand for thirty years.

With many of the models of the same period known for being divas, or getting ahead of themselves and turning to other 'showbiz' routes - Lisa always seemed to remain humble and modest. She said, of her own aesthetic and legacy later in her life that - 'The shape of sculpting express's my feelings. It is a mysterious and joyful process for me. When I look back, I can see I was a sculptor all my life. It is the same process with my body, and I didn't think any different when I was being photographed - I was a form in space.' 

Lisa and her husband Irving Penn, Lisa in Rochas 'Mermaid Dress' by Penn, © and Lisa with Penn and their son Tom. 

This has been an honour for me, personally, to write this blog dedicated to Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn. I am very passionate about the world of fashion, photography and the models, especially from the thirty year period I spoke about.

It is also an honour to write this in dedication to Tom Penn, who has been gracious enough to give his appreciation and gratitude to our tribute to his mother and father, via our Instagram.

  Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn 

1911 - 1992.



FACES OF A GENERATION: A MODEL'S WORLD

At the New Edit, we adore supermodels. It is no secret that I, Daniel the editor-in-chief, finds them endlessly fascinating, beautiful, and seem to have a timeless quality. FACES OF A GENERATION: A Model's World was originally a book idea I had. Something I was going to chronicle, from the origins of modelling designer fashion in the late 19th century, through to the creation of the so-called 'supermodel' term, through to today. It was going to focus also on the photographers that have been instrumental in helping make these women in a certain image - an image/idea that has captured the public's imagination for decades. But, I thought it would be, personally, more interesting to focus more on posting about them as little stories in themselves, and focus a series of blog posts on them.

(The supermodel phenomenon of the 1990's reunited for the Versace Spring 2018 show, in memory of their friend and designer Gianni. Showing that they still got it and they still look great 30 years on From left to right: Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Claudia Schiffer, Donatella, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, and Helena Christensen)

Each decade generally brings a new sense of style, when new fashions emerge, old trends return, and there is a  handful of women who become the icons of a new wave of dressing, a new manner in how women present themselves. This is the SUPERMODEL.  

The purpose and power of the supermodel has always been underestimated, even in the 1980's and going into the 1990's they became Billboard fantasies, monopolized the television and the tabloids, as well transcending magazines into films and celebrity status. But, if you were to ask a person on the street what these supermodels were particularity famous for, or the things they have done, most wouldn't be able to tell you. It can be looked at in different ways, that it is liberating and great that today's supermodel are so accessible and everywhere you turn, but also sad that the mystique of their lives, the very enigmatic quality that the golden age of models had is sort of gone now.

The more generalized term of 'model' can be applied to a variety of people who model a certain look, product or clothing, whereas the supermodel, to me, is a woman who transcends all that, who is able to take on the world... one stiletto at a time.  Today, their influence has reached almost celestial heights, with the likes of Gigi and her sister Bella Hadid, Cara Delavigne, Karlie Kloss, and Kendall Jenner are now household names. They have millions of people following them. Whenever their name is mentioned, everybody turns and talks. They are worth millions, and that is just in public appearances, let alone being the muses of designers, product placements, movie deals, or chat show interviews. 

This notion, however, of being something girls and other women can look up to, the whole idea of a supermodel who crosses over fashion into something else is nothing new. It has been going for almost a 100 years.

The Twelve Most Photographed Models, as taken by Irving Penn in 1947 in New York which is now displayed at the National Portrait Gallery. The models were: 

Meg Mundy, Marilyn Ambrose, Helen Bennett, Dana Jenney, Betty McLaughlen, Lisa Fonssagrives - Penns Wife, Lily Carlson, Elizabeth Gibbons, Muriel Maxwell, Kay Hernan, Andrea Johnson, and Dorian Leigh. These are just some of the supermodels we shall be discussing on this series of blog posts and the masters who took their images.

The actual idea and concept of the supermodel started in the 1930's. Prior to this, fashion and couture hit the world stage with the likes of Worth, Poiret and Chanel, where there was an endless conveyor-belt of women who modeled for them, but none of them seemed to grasp the public's imagination. it was only royalty of various European nations who became part of the celebrity ideal, and wore these designers to glamorous balls and premieres. Nonetheless, the actual job of the supermodel was born in the 1930's with one particular woman - Lisa Fonssagrives. As photographed here, (above) in the 12 Most Photographed Models of their time by her future husband Irving Penn, she became the epitome of grace, sophistication and elegance. She shall be our first focus in these posts, why not start where it all began?

As mentioned, in this series of posts we shall focus on the supermodels themselves, in particular certain women whom have changed the industry and became something more than just a clothes mannequin - they became icons. To start the series off we shall be going back to the 1930's with Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn and those who followed her, such as Muriel Maxwell and Meg Mundy. It was then, in war-time, where there seemed to be an influx of more supermodels gracing the covers of every magazine, the likes of Dorian Leigh, Anita Colby (the highest paid at the time) and Carmen Dell'Orefice - all of them made a name for themselves. At a time where rashioning was strict and peoples lives would never be the same again, these models and the likes of Vogue, were a sort of escapism for many women, away from the front line of working. Something that adds to their character and mystery.

However, it was the 1950's that really saw them take over the world. The likes of icons such as Dovima, Jean Patchett, Anne St. Marie and Sunny Harnett, took the note of being beautiful but making it iconic as the faces of their own generation. For me, they epitomized the glamour and elegance of the era that is sadly lost to time. But if you want to see how supermodel's became part of popular culture, true household name status, then look no further than the the 1960's.
Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton and Pattie Boyd, all became THE FACE of the Swinging 60's, against a backdrop of The Beatles, Mini-skirts, the pill and the Mods! This was the decade to be seen, and the social revolution that took place in the UK, alongside the fashion, space race, and music, these supermodels were the leaders of the swinging pack.

(From left to right: Twiggy, Jean 'The Shrimp' Shrimpton, and Pattie Boyd. All of whom helped make London and the UK in the 1960's the place to be.)

In the 1970's, the decade bought a new wave of models, coinciding with the emancipation of women in the work place, an era of Studio 54 and Foxy Brown, and the political upheaval of the country. It was the likes of Jerry Hall, Lauren Hutton and Patti Hansen whom all became pin ups for a sexy new age of freedom and liberal openness. Though some may look back and see the 1970's as the era of sex, and yes sex sells, but, for me it was also an era of change, where history was made with the likes of Iman and Beverley Johnson  making it acceptable to have black women on the front cover of magazines.

This new idea of making these beautiful women the face of an idea, the sort of mascot for a new way of living was reflected in the pages of Vogue, Time, and Harper's Bazaar and paved a way for the new era of supermodels - in the tacky and glitzy 1980's. The names synonymous with this era were: Brooke Shields, Cindy Crawford, Christie Blinkley and Janice Dickinson, whom all carried on the legacy of making themselves part of the national identity of the countries they came from. It was the influx of American Consumerism which took hold in the 1950's, but in the 1980's became something of a monster - all coincided with making the supermodel, herself, an icon of glamour.

(From left to right: Jerry Hall, Lauren Hutton and Patti Hansen, the cool blondes of the 1970's, whom became sexual pin ups for men but inspirations for women across the world. They helped make modelling and fashion transcend its somewhat exclusive industry into the households of the public, as they dated rock stars, appeared in films, and advertised popular brands from Revlon to Pepsi.)

It was the 1990's that really saw the true home of the supermodels and the world they created. Helped by master photographers such as Peter Lindbergh, Herb Ritts, Steven Meisel and Patrick Demarchelier, the models of this decade were on the lips of everybody. You couldn't go anywhere without seeing them. Not only did they strut the catwalks of Paris, London and New York, they entered our homes in the form of television and the tabloids, as many partied and became friends with celebrities of their day. 

The most iconic of these collaborations was when George Michael asked a few girls to appear in his Freedom '90 music video - something that ended in what is now a chic and poignant tribute to him, even though he wasn't even in the video himself. Those he picked were The Versace Girls (named due to their closeness and being muses to the Italian designer) Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Tatjana Patitz, Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelista - each unique in their own way but came together to create a sense of chicness that was both mysterious yet attainable.

(The iconic image by Peter Lindbergh for Vogue in 1990 (and one of my all time favourites), that cemented the new generation of models. From left to right: Naomi Campell, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz, Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford.)

We hadn't seen such a phenomenon as we did in the 1990's with these girls. They became more famous than the actual designers they wore. Overshadowing even the film stars they married (you know who I mean). There was a shift in fashion and aesthetics in this decade, as George Michael's Freedom girls were the glamorous few, there was this new surge of 'heroin chic' which became popular. The most famous now being Kate Moss, who seemed to reign supreme from the 1990's even now, as she features regularly on fashion magazines at the age of 44.

In the 2000's there was another new wave of models who became iconic in their own right, such as Giselle Bundchen, Heidi Klum, and Elle McPherson, but the early 2000's saw the rise of celebrity and singers/actresses become the models of their day. A shift occured when the likes of young American's in the vein of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and even rap stars like Lil' Kim and Eve, became cover stars and endorsement dreams for big brands. Supermodels seemed to sadly fade in the background.

But move on ten years, it is now, that has seen a rise in the new wave of supermodels/celebrities/philanthropists/actresses etc... (exhausted yet?) Yes, for today's millennial computer age, a supermodel unfortunately can't just put on a Dior dress and that be it. Now, they have to appear either on reality shows (Real Housewives, sssh) or big budget DC films (Suicide Squad anyone?).  

As mentioned before, they do now have to have something unique and that big break, be it in music, film or TV, isn't always the be all or end all. They have to have a quirk or something that makes them transcend above modelling and acting, to another level. Be it, Cara Delavigne's thick eyebrows or Gig Hadid's relationship with Zayn Malick, supermodels today now have to be more commercial than ever before. What is great about the age of modelling today, is that there is also a new revolution sweeping the fashion world, and it is becoming far more acceptable to include mixed race supermodels such as Adwoa Aboah and even "plus size" supermodels like Ashley Garaham, are now regulars on magazine covers and advertising the everyday woman's clothes.

(From left to right: Hayley Baldwin, Bella Hadid, Cara Delavigne, Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid - the faces of countless cosmetic companies, stars of television and blockbuster films, girlfriends to boy band members, the list goes on with how they have influenced today's popular culture.)

Like I said, it is under very much under-estimated how these womens names are synonymous with pop culture and helped change the way we sometimes look at the world, especially in the fashions. They even help us with daily life, if you look hard enough to see it. If its not their Instagram posts influencing what you wear or how you take your own photos, it is their modelling a mascara you must go out and buy, or  their face in a music video that makes you go download that song and listen to it endlessly. Supermodel's have always influenced our daily lives, even in the smallest details and sometimes in a big way - such as myself.

I shall be focusing each post on one certain supermodel whom I believe has done all the above. I want to not only charter their lives in brief detail, but also the way they have been perceived in popular culture, and my personal favourite photos of them. There will also be posts too on some of the more lesser known supermodels who have unfortunately faded into obscurity. Something we have researched as part of our Instagram, remembering models and photographers whom most have forgotten about.

So stay tuned for more. Keep up to date by checking out and following our Instagram at: @newedituk

Words by Daniel, Editor in Chief.