Along with Tatjana Patitz who died in January,these women strutted into the zeitgeist with George Michael’s Freedom! ’90 music video and stayed there,leaving little room for newcomers.
“These were only four of the supermodels that made a huge impact back in the day,” says US agent Paul Fisher,who represented Campbell and Stephanie Seymour. “They are missing Kate Moss,Claudia Schiffer and Stephanie Seymour.
“These famous faces were out every night. They were the stars of that time,on the covers of every magazine and dating the most famous people. This created a huge impact,cementing them into the consciousness of our time and obviously for years to come.”
Unlike their predecessors Lauren Hutton,Twiggy,Jean Shrimpton and Veruschka,the supers found fame as a model movement rather than as solo stars.
“There was a group of about 25 core models who were booked for every runway show in every city by every designer,” says British model Gail Elliott,who was part of the exclusive runway roster in the ’90s,and now runs her fashion label Little Joe Woman in Bali.
“Before the advent of the supermodel,girls were typecast as runway show girls,beauty models,swimsuit,lingerie,fit or print models. When the supers burst onto the scene,we did everything.”