In the first half of the twentieth century, modeling as a career option was looked down upon. Models were considered to be from lower backgrounds and with loose morals. It was an absolute third rate way for a woman to earn her living. With the coming of the 1950s, the attitudes of people all over the world began changing and models were gaining a sort of cult status. Today, models are celebrated as cultural icons and earn millions of dollars in contracts.
Vogue first featured a living woman on its cover in the year 1932, about sixteen years after its launch. Photographers labeled models as “silly cows”. An interesting point to note here is that Christian Dior recruited some of his models from the local bordello simply because he did not want to spend too much money on paying modeling fees.
With the coming of the 1950s, society started accepting it well and it became a means of acquiring a “rich, well – bred husband”. In the 1960s, a model nearly always had a rich but bad behavioured boyfriend. In the 60s, many models started living in with photographers like Terence Donovan and David Baliey.
The 1960s were all about how different you are and your attitude. Twiggy was one of the greatest at flaunting herself and creating an impression with her personality. This decade saw more spending power in the hands of teenagers and Vogue took full advantage of the fact by launching Twiggy fashions and Twiggy dolls, all of which became extremely popular.
With the onset on the 1980s, models started becoming serious about their job and the world saw a new crop of go-getters emerge. They began talking in terms of million – dollar contracts and insisting on make-up experts and hair stylists to help them get ready for shoots and shows.
The term supermodel emerged in the 1980s and 1990s. They were those who would not wok for less than $10,000 a day.
Given below is a Vogue cover of 1990 which featured the top 5 models of the 1990s. They are: Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz, Christie Turlington and Cindy Crawford.
The 1990s saw a new breed of models who were young, vulnerable and scruffy. Designers like Calvin Klein wanted realism from their models. Kate Moss was a typical example – she was fragile, slouchy and the designer’s dream.
Towards the end of the 1990s, the trend changed yet again. Very young models were no longer in demand. Designers started looking for women who looked good even at 40 or 50. Some notable examples are Marie Helvin and Lauren Hutton. Fat or plus size models also get their fair share of business. Fifteen year old skinny models are no longer considered hot cakes.
Here is a Vogue cover published in 1999 where 13 top models were featured.
