THEand supermodels were not just faces, but a cultural phenomenon in which fashion, music, advertising and pop imagery came together. As often happens, the change also began with the music. When in 1990 George Michael decided to no longer appear in the videos of his songs, on the cover of British Vogue Peter Lindbergh had recently portrayed the five top models of the moment: Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Tatjana Patitz. To interpret the video of his famous song Freedom! ’90Michael chose them.
In the docuseries The Super ModelsNaomi recounted how, in that moment, they knew they had created something iconic. The following year Gianni Versace wanted them all for a fashion show in which, at the end of the show, the girls left embracing, to the tune of that song. As Cindy Crawford later said: «It was a unique song, an incredible stylist… Everything came together perfectly. How to say: ok, that’s what a supermodel is. We looked powerful, and we started to really believe it.”
Supermodels, who were they. And who I am today
Because that, thirty years ago, were the “super models”: a cultural device. Faces with which fashion entered pop culture, but also the point at which publishing, advertising, glamor and video clips coalesced into figures useful not only for showing a dress, but for embodying an era. Linda Evangelista’s famous quote (“We don’t get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day”) was not just a joke: For a short time, models became more famous than stylists to the general public. Their name sold as much as (and sometimes more than) the brand. A living signature that has transformed today: from divinities to media identities, from muses to entrepreneurs. Presences visible on social networks, with a charm calculated based on the weight of followers.
The time of the leading models
«In the 1980s, Milan was a highly sought-after destination. There were no computers or cell phones: in the agencies we worked around tables with a central wheel where the models’ files were filed, in alphabetical order. When a request arrived, the card was taken and the work was marked in red. We gave the girls a booklet with the clients in Milan, identified by a number, and tokens for making phone calls. They called us several times a day: we communicated the various meetings by giving them the identification number and the time” says Paola Baratto, a 40-year career in the world of modeling agencies. «There were no casting directors yet, the models spoke to the brands: we had a direct relationship with the creative office». At the time, girls had a much more active role. Some, Paola underlines, suggested who to work with: Linda Evangelista, for example, had favorite photographers with whom she built a creative dialogue.
Linda Evangalista, Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington in New York in 1989. (Ron Galella/Getty Images)
From Linda Evangelista to Cindy Crawford
The generation of Nadja Auermann and Cindy Crawford was made up of determined women: personalities who were not used and replaced in a few years, as often happens today. Careers began more slowly, developing extraordinary professionalism. «Even the fashion shows were different: 30 models, each with 2 or 3 exits, obtained greater visibility. Today you often see 80 of them, because brands prefer to multiply the faces.
Those supermodels looked more “tough” and they really were! specifies Barter. «We all worked together with an attitude that today has been somewhat lost. And to think that wages were higher at the time: today a model is paid at least 10 times less.” Even with the increase in work such as social campaigns, Instagram posts and events, in general the rates globalized along the lines of the New York ones, lower than the European ones.
Karl Lagerfeld backstage at the Chloé fashion show in 1994, posing with Karen Mulder, Carla Bruni, Nadja Auermann, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Claudia Schiffer and Helena Christensen, the most famous 90s top models. (Stephane Cardinale/Sygma via Getty Images)
The top models of the 2000s, still riding high
That world began to crack around the early 2000s. On the one hand, minimalism and the idea of a more conceptual fashion reduced the space for strong personalities: designers like Helmut Lang or Jil Sander contributed to a more neutral and controlled image. On the other hand, the celebrity system made a decisive impact. If the 90s had raised models to the rank of stars, the 2000s introduced already existing stars. Hollywood entered advertising campaigns with actresses such as Nicole Kidman, Keira Knightley or Scarlett Johansson: their narrative capital combined an entire biography with the image. The face of an actress guaranteed a wider and more transversal penetration, taking away the aspirational monopoly of the figure of the top model, which changed its structure. «The use of other professional skills generated identification» concludes Paola Baratto.
Karlie Kloss on the Gucci Autumn Winter 2026/2027 catwalk. American, 33 years old, ranked among the 30 best models of the 2000s by “Vogue Paris”, she is among the highest paid in the world. (Giovanni Giannoni/WWD via Getty Images)
«It is increasingly useful to find those in the media who have a strong hold on people. As, after the actresses, influencers are also called upon: perhaps not in the most exclusive luxury, where the names of many special models are still strong. It is no coincidence that Giorgio Armani clearly included that of Vittoria Ceretti in his latest advertising campaign.”
From supermodels to digital talents
That the Nineties were the golden years of this profession (and of fashion in general) is confirmed by those who lived them without the dominance of the internet and that technology which, by speeding up everything, created an initial detachment. «Human relationships, even in this sector, have been greatly penalized. For example, business trips dedicated to shooting for advertising or magazines were much longer” underlines Fabiana Clavario, make-up artist who has wonderful memories of those years.
Kendall Jenner, American, thirty-year-old, half-sister of Kim Kardashian, becomes known in the reality show “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” about her family’s life. (Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images)
«We were away together for even a couple of weeks, not only because the world economy allowed it: we took just 4 or 6 photos a day, usually in the early morning or at sunset because, without a computer, we had to be sure that the light was the right one. Obviously we didn’t have smartphones or computers to distract ourselves with, so we formed strong bonds, we ate together, we organized evenings. The models were not exhausted as often happens today, when a shoot is concentrated in a few days: we spent time together discovering the various locations.”
Sense of group and nostalgia
The sense of “group” really made the difference. In The Super Models Linda Evangelista recalls how she and Christy Turlington took action against the racism Naomi Campbell encountered in her early yearsrefusing to work if their friend wasn’t hired. «Seeing them together was a celebration, today it is more difficult to experience that energy. The photos multiply, whereas previously the shots had to last an entire season. In their creation a different presence was felt compared to the many seasonal productions now created to keep attention alive: models with character then become “talent”, as in the case of the Hadid sistersbecause they bring with them a continuous personal storytelling” concludes Fabiana Clavario.
Bella Hadid at the Prada Autumn Winter 2026/2027 fashion show. American, born in 1996, sister of Gigi, in 2023 she was one of the highest paid models with a total of 19 million dollars. (Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
But, as Simon Chambers (co-founder of the model agency Storm) observed in an interview with The Guardian, this system coexists with a form of nostalgia. Some supermodels of the time achieved global campaigns and covers by intercepting what in marketing is called silver dollars: that range of more mature customers who loved the first generation of supermodels and, today, have greater purchasing power.
There are also many young people whowhile identifying with more current models followed on social media, in Instagram and TikTok channels dedicated to the 90s they become passionate about those mythological figures protagonists of the “trinity” of fashion: stylist, photographer, model. As designer John Galliano said when interviewing the great Peter Lindbergh for Interview: «They were your silent movie stars. The script was the dress, and you directed them”.
