Craft Files: Model know-how

As this school year comes to a close so does a year in fashion, at least for this newspaper. But just because we have a few months off does not mean that the fashion industry does. Right now designers are putting together collections for the couture shows in Paris, which will take place in July, and menswear collections will also be shown in July. This is just one example of the fashion industry's effort to stay fresh and ahead of the game. Always changing and always evolving, there is no vacation in fashion. Sure designers may go to Capri or St. Tropez, but most of the time those trips are to get inspiration for collections they will show months later. Models go non-stop, jet setting around the world for photo shoots in Sydney and Moscow.

When we think of models, we just think of some anorexic fifteen year old wearing thousands of dollars worth of clothing walking down a runway void of any expression. There are so many things wrong with that statement that I do not even know where to begin. Let us try and start from the beginning, when models became the centers of attention.

Janice Dickinson, self-proclaimed world's first supermodel, was a handful back in her heyday. She walked the runways, graced the covers of magazines, and partied at Studio 54 with Andy Warhol and Bianca Jagger. All of this was way before Linda Evangelista and the now infamous quote.

"We do not wake up for less than $10,000 a day," she said.

I absolutely love this quote. This, printed in Vogue in 1990, is one of the things that leads to the fall of a supermodel. But I am getting ahead of myself, let me first fill you in on who the supermodels were of this era.

The most well known supermodels of this era were Cindy, Naomi, Christy and Linda. Of course, I am talking about Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista. Most of you probably have no idea who they are without their last names, but in the industry they did not need their last names. Everyone knew who they were. These girls were the ones who were on every runway and gracing every magazine cover. You could not walk past a newsstand without seeing at least one, if not all of them, on the cover of a magazine.

Photographers like Peter Lindbergh and Patrick Demarchelier turned these women into icons. They were even the stars of George Michael's video for "Freedom '90." Along with Tatjana Patitz, sometimes the forgotten supermodel, these women went from being life size clothes hangers to being full on celebrities in their own right. But all good things must come to an end and overnight "heroin chic" and grunge rock became the new thing. The waif took over for the Amazonian supermodels and Kate Moss became a household name just as these women had.

In the past few years, we have seen the rise of the actress gracing covers of fashion magazines and models taking a backseat. There have not been any marquee names to splash on the covers like there was in the early 90's. Sure you have Gisele Bndchen, who everyone knows from Victoria's Secret, but she is not a supermodel. Neither is Adriana Lima. She is NOT a supermodel. She has done nothing but Victoria's Secret shows and ad campaigns. That does not even equal a quarter of the work the supermodels of the early 90's did. If I have to hear one more person describe her as a supermodel my head is going to explode. I am a die hard fashion fan and I can probably name every model featured in Vogue without having to read the caption saying who it is. There is a criterion used to rate who is actually a supermodel. Adriana does not meet it.

The fashion industry has been hotly anticipating the arrival of their new supermodel saviors. The May 2007 issue of Vogue, on newsstands now, has found the girls that can reclaim the magazine covers. This group of 10 women, many of whom I have already known of for quite some time now, are the ones who can possibly bring back the reign of the supermodel. I certainly hope so.

Lily Donaldson, Hilary Rhoda, Doutzen Kroes, Sasha Pivovarova, Caroline Trentini, Raquel Zimmermann, Jessica Stam, Chanel Iman, Coco Rocha, and Agyness Deyn are the next big things in the fashion world. Start familiarizing yourself with these ten because they are the ones getting the big ad campaigns, walking the runways of Paris, New York and Milan, and doing photo shoot after photo shoot. With Chanel being the youngest, 16, and Raquel being the oldest, 24, there is no reason for these women to slow down. Within the next few years, these women are the ones who will be leading the pack and reclaiming magazine covers from boring actresses who lack any knowledge of fashion. Each brings her own sense of style to the mix and that allows people to identify with one or all of them.

As one fashion chapter ends, another is just beginning. I only hope that as these 10 women begin a new chapter in their careers we all can begin a new chapter in our lives this summer season. It has been a pleasure writing this column this past year and I wish everyone a safe and happy summer. I look forward to coming back and serving up some new fashion information for all of you this fall.