Let's Bring Back: The Earliest Supermodels

Tonight Vogue and the MET Costume Institute will co-host their annual gala, considered by many to be fashion's most glamorous event. This year's theme - "Model as Muse" - seems like a fairly unimaginative concept for a fashion event, until you remember that popular actresses have been elbowing models off magazine covers in recent years.

When asked to name a supermodel, most people would conjure up Linda ("We don't wake up for less than $10,000 a day") Evangelista, maid-assaulter Naomi Campbell, and the lovely model-turned-yogi Christy Turlington, who reigned supreme in the 1980s and 90s, along with Claudia Schiffer and Cindy Crawford.

Watching some of these creatures in fashion documentary Unzipped (1994) - especially Evangelista, whose piercing, nasal voice could be made into a weapon of sorts -- makes me long for days when models made their impressions silently on paper, not running around in menacing, Alaïa-clad packs.

Contrary to popular perception, the supermodel phenomenon did not begin (or end) with the trio named above; it largely began in the late 1940s with Dorian Leigh and her sister Suzy Parker, the first model to earn $100,000 per year. These ladies, along with Lisa Fonssagrives (pictured below) were among the first to make modeling big business - to this day, modeling is one of the few industries in which women regularly out-earn their male counterparts, often by significant margins.

This special edition of Let's Bring Back ..., my recurring column that celebrates personae and rituals from past eras, will look at some of the most prominent models of the twentieth century. Some, like Fonssagrives, have faded from public memory, while others, like Twiggy, have reinvented themselves as contemporary pop figures.

These ladies epitomized the styles of their times. While each eventually became a celebrity in her own right, it was a very different sort of celebrity -- a far cry from bratty variety that emerged during the Supermodel Era of the 80s and 90s. One really can't imagine Suzy Parker beaning her maid in the head with a cellphone.

Models are meant to showcase someone else's creativity, which is something that seems to have been forgotten in recent years. If a model is lucky, she'll usher in a new era with her aesthetic. Without further ado, Let's Bring Back ... five ladies who did precisely that.

1. Lisa Fonssagrives

British Vogue, August 1940 and Vogue, 1960

Born Lisa Bernstone in Sweden in 1911, Fonssagrives studied ballet until she married photographer Fernand Fonssagrives and gave up dancing to model. At first, she modeled hats, but soon a Vogue cover followed, with Fonssagrives posing as each letter in the magazine's title (see above). She became a regular cover model for Vogue and Bazaar; in 1949, Time magazine called her "the million dollar baby" in a cover-story feature. Eventually she divorced Fernand and married famed photographer Irving Penn.

Widely credited with being one of the world's first supermodels, Fonssagrives once humbly described herself as a "good clothes hanger."

2. Veruschka

Veruschka in YSL by Rubaretlli 1968; Courtesy of the Costume Institute

Not only was Veruschka unstoppably gorgeous, she also gets snaps for having one of the world's longest birthnames: Vera Gottliebe Anna Gräfin von Lehndorff-Steinort. Born in 1939 in East Prussia, Veruschka's father was executed for participating in an assassination attempt against Hitler; she was five years old at the time.

As a model, Veruschka helped move fashion away from the prim, highly-structured styles of the 1950s and into the realm of unbridled, bed-head sexuality of the 1960s. In the mid-60s, she wore nothing but body paint to a shoot, which became a calling-card of sorts for her. In one shoot in Kenya, on which she collaborated with artist Salvador Dalí and photographer Peter Beard, Veruschka covered herself entirely with black paint to resemble the "surreal" plants in the landscape -- and the natives who lived there.

3. Jean Shrimpton

Jean Shrimpton by David Bailey, 1964; Courtesy of the Costume Institute

Born in 1942 in England, "the Shrimp" was one of the original gamines and an icon of Swinging Sixties London. By the age of 18, she had already graced the covers of the major fashion and lifestyle mags. Some credit Shrimpton with starting the original mini-skirt craze in 1965, when she wore an above-knee white shift dress to the Victoria Derby race in Melbourne, causing a scandal/sensation.

Incidentally, now she owns a ramshackle seaside hotel in Cornwall called the Abbey, which is one of the most charming places I've ever been.

4. Twiggy

On the covers of French Vogue and Newsweekin 1967

Her birth name was Lesley Hornby; she became known as Twiggy for obvious reasons. At age sixteen and weighing an estimated 90 pounds, in 1966 she became England's most popular model and the mod postergirl around the world. With her short-haired androgynous look, Twiggy revolutionized the concept of high-fashion. By 1967, Mattel had released a 'Twiggy' doll. The original waif, Twiggy foreshadowed the success of equally-bony icon Kate Moss. She retired from modeling after only four years.

Today's audiences likely know Twiggy as a former judge on America's Next Top Model.

5. Iman

On the covers of ItalianVogue and Italian Cosmopolitan in 1980

Born in 1955 in Mogadisha, Somalia, Iman was 'discovered' by photographer Peter Beard twenty years later and became one of the first black women to rise to supermodel status (along with under-credited model Donyale Luna - who, in 1966, became the first African American model to grace an edition of Vogue).

Throughout the 1980s, Iman modeled for Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, and Yves Saint Laurent, whom she inspired to create an "Africa Queen" collection." Her success paved the road for other black supermodels such as Campbell, Tyra Banks, and today's runway darling, Chanel Iman.

In 1994, Iman launched an eponymous cosmetics line marketed to women of color. She is famously married to David Bowie.

With special thanks to Patrick O'Connell and Nancy Chilton.

Comments

[LyndaV]

Don't overlook gorgeous Beverly Johnson....one of the first African-American models to grace the covers of major magazines......

[lynnn]

Wow no airbrushing, these women were beautiful, though I take issue w/one of them.

[benne]

Terrific article.

[wordcandy]

Two words: Rene Russo.

[Glenn1441]

I am surprised more wasn't given about Suzy Parker. She was one of the first top models to go on to an acting career in Hollywood. She was also one of Gabrielle Chanel's favorite models, and the two were close friends up until Chanel's death in '71.

[Mihal]

I miss supermodels...90's supermodels especially. I cry about it almost every night. Luckily some of them are still hanging on - Kate, Naomi, Claudia...and I live for those moments:
http://snapsanddaps.blogspot.com/2009/01/i-miss-supermodels-dammit.html

[sweetladygenevieve]

Why don't more African American models grace the covers of fashion mags today? I guess the fashion industry hasn't heard about "post-racial" America.

[EmeraldWorld]

Ah, it's been a long standing issue in the fashion industry. The designers put the blame on the agencies, the agencies pit the blame back against designers. Those in the latter group make very contradictory claims that the agencies didn't show them any black models (or other nonwhite models) AND that "black girls don't sell". The latter point is especially interesting, considering how much black women contribute to consumerism in fashion (a lot more than people think).

[Lesley M. M. Blume - Huffpost Blogger]

Actually, American Vogue has featured Michelle Obama, Beyonce Knowles, Liya Kebede, and Jourdan Dunn on its covers in 2009 alone.

[texhall00]

And the beautiful Karen Graham?

[lucky88]

Where's Wilhelmina on your list? She still holds the record of most Vogue covers (27). Plus she launched many careers with her agency that is still a major player decades after she died in 1980. Her only props for all her hard work? The villain on 'Ugly Betty' is named after her. Shame.

[LAnancy]

I don't buy fashion magazines that have actresses on the cover - which means I haven't bought Vogue or Harper's in ages. So boring, these actresses

[LAnancy]

And where is Lauren Hutton?

[PhilipB]

True!

[jeliz]

Exactly. You missed Lauren Hutton.

[ena]

Notice how these gals have meat on their bones - - even Twiggy & we thought she was too thin back when. They actually look healthy as well as soooooooooo beautiful. The British Vogue 1940 photo could be of today - - what a timeless shot. The recent 'never stop moving ads' use a very similar shot. Thanks for the trip down memory lane it was great fun!

[ElleHartman]

Carmen Dell'Orifice should be on this list. Lauren Hutton too.

[dididangerlove]

Yes! Carmen is still beautiful and still working. Where is Suzy Parker?

[MightyMeno]

The term "supermodel" should be banned. It's overused, meaningless and tiresome. You're either a successful working model, or you're not! That said, I loved the 60s look with the pale lips and tricked-out eyes, and The Shrimp and Twiggy did it best.

[DirtyMoon]

well said!

[GayleAlstrom]

The best known super model from the 1950's, Suzy Parker, was left out.

[naschkatze]

Yes, that is a big omission.

[lmmb]

Actually, Suzy Parker and her sister, Dorian Leigh, are discussed at relative length in the introduction as the original supermodels. We were unable to get photo rights to some of their images.