While one could argue that the statement — “Twenty years ago the average fashion model weighed 8% less than the average woman. Today she weighs 23% less.” — doesn’t take into account the fact that women 20 years ago probably weighed less than they do now — two decades of fast food will do that to you — one only has to consider who the average fashion model was 20 years ago. Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Linda Fucking Evangelista…these women were Amazons and Glamazons; healthy, gorgeous and glowing with the energy of life and $10,000 a day paychecks. Then Kate Moss came shuffling in and changed the game. Despite the veracity of the facts, if anything the spread stimulates a debate. And more importantly, it offers images of a beautiful woman who is not only clearly proud of her voluptuous body, but also pretty damned flexible to boot. [Buzzfeed]

The chameleonic Evangelista has never been more gorgeous as snapped by Steven Meisel while Uncle Karl wanders through a forest of bare legs and buttocks, camera in hand. As for Naomi, she does what she does best — give face. A lot of it, courtesy of Guido Mocafico.

Photos: Fashion Gone Rogue

North America : Canada

Jessica Stam

Coco Rocha

Shalom Harlow

Linda Evangelista

Photos: W

Vogue Italia‘s “Day and Night,” left; W‘s “Transformers,” right

The two shoots are not completely alike; after all W used 10 models including Linda Evangelista, Karen Elson and Jessica Stam, while Vogue Italia only used Zimmermann. And Karl Templer styled for Vogue Italia while Edward Enninful styled for W.

Still, the theme, and even some of the poses, of the two spreads are remarkably similar and they’re both in black and white, thus making the similarities even more apparent.

Sure this doesn’t seem like that big of a deal — fashion continually recycles itself, even if after only a month — but WWD, at least, thinks there might be repercussions:

“The fallout will be worth watching. If it damages W’s relationship with Meisel, [Stefano] Tonchi will lose out on a big-name photographer he’s craved for the magazine. If Tonchi doesn’t act, it will demonstrate the lengths a fashion magazine editor will go to appease a photographer who holds considerable influence in the industry.”

What’s Tonchi going to do, go to Condé Nast and issue a recall of all August Italian Vogues? Mesiel’s a brilliant photog — he just got a little lazy. It happens to the best of us. I got lazy when it came to the conclusion of this post…The End. [WWD]

There are faces and there’s Linda Fucking Evangelista.

- The Wall Street Journal called in an expert to explain why Linda Evangelista‘s son needs $46,000 a month from his father, billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault-Hayek. Turns out young Augustin James is ballin’ out of control. [The Cut]

- A report that Jay-Z bought Billionaire Boys Club – Pharrell‘s clothing line — have been refuted by Jigga himself, who claims he’s only “partnering” with the Neptune. [GQ]

 Who’s fault is it? Salma, I’m looking at you.

Pinault, chairman and CEO of PPR — the conglomerate behind Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and a slew of other brands — is one of the richest men in the world…and Evangelista is getting hers.

If the super gets her way — and when doesn’t she? — that 46K “would probably be the largest support order in the history of the Family Court,” says some professional legal dude.

While Pinault is busy making it rain for Valentina, his 3-year-old daughter with Hayek, there’s a draught when it comes to Evangelista’s 4-year-old son, Augustin James — meanwhile, you do the math — with Linda’s lawyer claiming, ”He’s just been sitting back, paying zero.”

Among the costs Evangelista is looking to gouge Pinault on are an $80,000/year nanny and private, gun-toting drivers at $175,000/yr. While the judge seemed sympathetic to those costs — after all, we’re talking about a star here — he immediately dismissed the $7500/month vacation expenses. Scrooge.

Evangelista, who’s worth some $8 million — “and she earned, last year, $1.8 million” — is still a working mother and boy was she working that day in court. When the judge asked her just how many hours she worked in a given week, Linda calmly responded:

“On days when I do not work, I am working on my image. I have to hit the gym. I have beauty appointments. I have to work toward my next job and maintaining my image, just like an athlete.”

And she’s running circles all over this case. In stilettos, too. Good luck, mama! [NY Post]

]]> http://fashionindie.com/linda-evangelista-doesnt-get-out-of-court-for-less-than-46000-a-month/feed/ 0 http://fashionindie.com/naomis-former-agent-drunk-on-haterade/ http://fashionindie.com/naomis-former-agent-drunk-on-haterade/#comments Wed, 13 Jul 2011 13:11:20 +0000 Lester Brathwaite http://fashionindie.com/?p=201501 After calling her a liar and a blood diamond thief, Carole White‘s still got an ax to grind with her former client, Naomi Campbell.

White reminisces on so-called “happier times” in the Telegraph for no other reason than to spill this photo of of herself with Naomi — wearing a little Whitney Houston on her face — and BFF Christy Turlington before the Burns.

Picture it, the early 1990s. White’s three major clients, the Holy Trinity — Naomi, Christy and Linda Evangelista — command a staggering £300,000 for a campaign (that’s like half a mil in $$) and won’t even get out of bed for less than $10,000.

Naomi, surprisingly, let all that success and ferocity go to her head; or as Carole puts it “when everyone is telling you that you look fantastic, showering you with gifts and wanting to befriend you, your perception of life gets distorted.”

Tell me about it, that’s the story of my life.

While Christy was “a dream, very professional and calm” Naomi was” less disciplined,” often showing up late to shoots if bothering to show up at all. White then points to this one time Naomi apparently wiped out an entire genus of plant:

[A] Dutch nursery named a rare black tulip after her and asked her to promote it. Hundreds of the flowers were driven to London in a refrigerated van to fill a studio. Naomi was supposed to lie in the middle of them for a commercial, but she didn’t turn up for the shoot – she was sick. These poor guys watched the tulips wilt in the studio and the ad never happened.

White’s article abruptly ends there probably — I’m assuming — because Mia Farrow, as usual wanted to put in her two cents and decided to finish it her damn  self. [Telegraph]

Ever since taking over the tome in 2001, La Bailey’s pushed for fun, daring and unvonventional spreads, from Demi Moore ascending a floating staircase in a McQueen armadillo heel while feeding a giraffe to The Simpsons modeling in Paris with Linda Evangelista and Karl Lagerfeld.

Harper’s Bazaar Greatest Hits starts with Bailey’s first cover — Gwyneth Paltrow…it could be worse — and goes year by year, as edited by Bailey herself over last summer in the Hamptons. I foresee one of the book’s 20,000 copies landing on FashionIndie‘s already full coffee table in the coming months.

And though rumors persist that Bailey is always one stilettoed step away from being replaced at Harper’s, both she and Hearst president David Carey deny them.

Carey refers to a story WWD ran questioning Bailey’s future as “a bad piece of journalism” while Bailey just takes it in stride:

“Any editor at the top of their game has to deal with that. It would be naïve to believe everything you read about yourself in print. I just laugh it off.” [WWD]

1. Madonna – Blond Ambition Tour (1990)

Always lauded, and at times harshly criticized, for her chameleon-like reinventions, she is nevertheless the artist who most brilliantly illustrates — and has done the most to encourage — the symbiotic relationship between music and fashion. Madge reached her sartorial high point during her wildly successful Blond Ambition Tour, featuring costumes by Jean Paul Gaultier who designed the now legendary cone bra.

2. Michael Jackson – “Beat It” music video (1983)

Perhaps the most iconic single article of clothing in pop music history, MJ’s red leather jacket was a cultural watershed moment because it became almost synonymous with Thriller, i.e. the biggest album of all time. The ankle-baring trousers — a nod to Fred Astaire – white socks and black shoes were also trademarks of the 80s and still loom large over the singer’s incredible legacy.

3. The Beatles - The  Ed Sullivan Show (1964)

When the Beatles invaded America, they brought along with them enduring and generation-defining trends such as the Beatle boot, collarless suits and the mop top — not to mention hysteria the likes of which Justin Bieber could only dream.

4. David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust Tour (1973-74)

Without Ziggy, Elton John would never have discovered his love of feathered headdresses, LaBelle wouldn’t have strutted around New Orleans in their silver lamé and simply put, there would be no Lady Gaga. A high-concept album with a high-concept look, David Bowie introduced androgyny to the pop culture masses, and decades later his seminal faux rocker is still a fashion favorite.

5. Diana Ross and the Supremes – “Come See About Me” on The Ed Sullivan Show (1964)

Three black girls from Detroit became the epitome of style, grace, beauty and glamor in the midst of social upheaval and racial injustice. Oprah said it best (as she does with everything): it was life-changing.

6. Ramones – Ramones (1976)

While the Beatles inspired bands to dress up, the Ramones’ relaxed, almost comalike coolness influenced other bands to keep it simple — years later their pared down style still feels like quintessential New York. Especially with all the hipsters dragging their Converses, skinny jeans and leather jackets around.

7. George Michael – “Freedom! ’90″ video (1990)

George Michael’s identity crisis led to the zenith of the supermodel explosion. Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington and Tatjana Patitz took the place of the singer — reluctant to appear in his own video — and  lip-synched their way to iconic status in the clip directed by future friend of Facebook, David Fincher.

8. Nirvana -  “Smells Like Teen Spirit” music video (1991)

Marc Jacobs‘ landmark Grunge collection for Perry Ellis in 1992 may have led to his dismissal, but it also cemented the enormous cultural impact Kurt Cobain and Nirvana had inadvertently etched out for themselves thanks to the success of “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Till this day the sight of plaid inspires those famous first notes and the image of zombie cheerleaders dancing through my head.

9. Run-D.M.C. – “My Adidas” (1986)

Hip hop has long been obsessed with fashion and material goods, but we wouldn’t have Kanye “The Louis Vuitton Don” West rapping about haute couture if we didn’t have Run D.M.C. extolling the virtues of their shell tops.

10. Lady Gaga – “Bad Romance” music video (2010)

Gaga went from popstar to phenomenon on the heels of her Alexander McQueen armadillo shoes. The video stands as an homage not only to McQueen and his legacy, but to the woman most responsible for Gaga’s amazing aptitude for reinvention: Madonna. And she’s been paying homage ever since.

1. Paris Is Burning (1990)

Set amidst the backdrop of 80s New York ball culture, Paris Is Burning is an exploration of beauty, race, sexuality, capitalism and the American Dream, all wrapped up in a dragtastic homage to the transformative powers of fashion. Also, where do you think Madonna learned to Vogue?

See Also: To Wong Foo — Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1994) Drag queens, yes; acute social commentary, not so much…but how can you argue with this? Oh, that’s right, you can’t.

Christie Brinkley (Feb. 2, 1954) Billy Joel‘s Uptown Girl was the reigning supermodel of the early 80s thanks to her three consecutive Sports Illustrated covers (1979-1981). After signing a record 20-year contract with Cover Girl, Brinkley came to embody the perpetually perky All-American girl of the decade. Recently, though, she went through a very public and very messy divorce and proved in a 2006 editorial in W magazine there was some grit beneath all that goddamn cheer.

Photo: John G. Zimmerman/ Sports Illustrated

Linda Evangelista (May 10, 1965) If you watch Isaac Mizrahi’s seminal fashion documentary Unzipped (1995), you won’t be able to help but think Linda Evangelista is a whiny bitch. She complains about everything the entire movie. You wonder why Mizrahi and everyone else puts up with it. Then, moments before she goes on the runway for his Fall 1994 collection, she stares directly into the camera, seduces you in a second then turns it out all the way down the catwalk. The super among supers who once notoriously purred, ”We don’t wake up for less than $10,000 a day,” was worth every penny. She’s fashion’s reigning chameleon, able to go from high fashion to commercial with the raise of an eyebrow.

Photo: The Fashion Spot

Cindy Crawford (Feb. 20, 1966) The mole that launched a thousand magazine covers, Cindy Crawford was perhaps the most iconic of the supemodels to emerge in the 1980s. She was the approachable bombshell, the girl next door who just happened to be walking a Chanel runway in Paris. Cindy is rarely seen on a runway or in an editorial these days, but whenever she crops up it’s a pretty big deal, like mama bird coming home to the roost.

Christy Turlington (Jan. 2, 1969) Quietly stunning, Christy Turlington can nonetheless pose anyone off the page. Perhaps it’s all those years of yoga, but her inner serenity and ferocity when it comes to her body language go hand in hand. She can be dynamic, she can be avant garde, she can be powerful, but she’s always amazing.

Naomi Campbell (May 22, 1970) What can be said about Naomi Campbell that hasn’t already been said that won’t land me in jail? The preeminent black supermodel of the past 50 years, Naomi recently celebrated her 25th year in the modeling industry, though her personal life remains front page material. Famous for her temper, the super has managed to stay in the spotlight because she’s got more to offer than just a cell phone to the head. A versatile editorial model, she also possesses the best walk ever seen on a runway.

Photo: Olsen Twins News

Wilhelmina Cooper (1939-1980) Before starting her own modeling agency in 1967 (yes, that Wilhelmina), the Dutch-born Cooper appeared on some 300 magazine covers, and still holds the record for most covers of American Vogue: 27. Though Gwyneth Paltrow is slowly sneaking up on her.

Photo: The Fashion Spot

Veruschka (May 14, 1939) The Countess Vera Gottliebe Anna von Lehndorff was forever immortalized in Michelangelo Antonioni‘s 1966 classic Blow Up, writhing around on the floor, turning, giving and generally destroying everything in the room. At 6’1 with size 13 feet, some might say she was tranny…”some” like me. Either way, before Lidna refused to get out of bed for $10,000, Veruschka was making that in a day. Go. Head. Tranny.

Jean Shrimpton (Nov. 7, 1942) Shrimpton was a sensation almost immediately when she started modeling in 1960 and is perhaps the world’s first supermodel, despite Janice Dickinson‘s drunken claim to the title. One of the most iconic faces and bodies of the 1960s (her slim figure earned her the nickname “The Shrimp”) Jean caused a stir in 1965 when she wore a mini-dress on Victoria Derby Day in Melbourne. It was so easy to cause a stir back then; now someone has to smuggle blood diamonds just to get some attention around here.

Naomi Sims (1948-2009) Before there was Naomi, there was Naomi. The first black supermodel, Naomi Sims worked overtime to break into what is still a largely racist industry. With a little help from Wilhelmina Cooper, Sims officially made it when she appeared in an AT&T commercial in 1968 wearing a Bill Blass ensemble. And I bet she never threw her phone at anyone…no, she probably did.

Photo: Life

Twiggy (Sept. 19, 1949) A boyishly short haircut in 1966 shot Leslie Hornby to superstardom as the international supermodel, Twiggy. At 5’6 and only 91 lbs at her discovery, she ushered in a new concept of female beauty and a whole rash of eating disorders. A tradition she continued as a judge on America’s Next Top Model.

Photo: Life

Peggy Moffitt (1939) My personal favorite 60s model, Peggy Moffitt was the original edgy girl. With her dark bangs and dark, Kohl-line eyes, she had one of the most distinctive looks of the decade. As a model, muse and eventual collaborator of Rudi Gernreich, she was immortalized when photographed in his topless bathing suit, the monokini, in 1964. How’s that for a stir, Shrimpton!

Donyale Luna (1945-1979) Peggy Ann Freeman escaped the slums of Detroit for the glitz and glamour of New York City. Here, as Donyale Luna, she was exotic and intriguing whereas in Detroit she “wasn’t considered beautiful or anything.” At 6’2, with her already striking features and ultramarine contacts, she was in high demand, scoring the cover of British Vogue in 1966. Donyale lived like, partied like and dated rock stars and died like one when she OD’d in 1979. Then 6 years later she was reincarnated as a sassy fashion blogger (Ahem!)

Penelope Tree (1950) The ultimate 60s “It” girl, Tree was the daughter of socialite Marietta Tree and British member of Parliament, Ronald Tree. When Diane Arbus took some photos of Penelope, her parents threatened to sue the photographer if the photos were ever published. Nonetheless, The Tree became rival to the Twig and inspired John Lennon, when asked to describe her in three words, to respond: “Hot hot hot! Smart smart smart!” Meanwhile, that’s either 2 or 6 words. Pull it together, Lennon.

Conceived by the Chairman of the Institute’s Board of Directors, Oscar de la Renta and curated by Vogue‘s own Hamish Bowles, Balenciaga: Spanish Master is the the first collection “to consider the impact of Spain’s culture, history and art” on the career and artistry of Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895-1972).

Portrait of the artist as a young fox

Balenciaga forever changed the way women dressed and introduced dramatically different silhouettes into a woman’s sartorial lexicon. Spanish Master showcases some of the designer’s brilliant, beautiful and very often groundbreaking work in millinery, evening gowns, cocktail dresses and daywear, particularly highlighting his expert construction and tailoring.

Photo: GDK is the new black.

Featuring over 70 pieces from the Balenciaga archives, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, The Hispanic Society of America, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum of the City of New York, and the Texas Fashion Collection, the collection also benefited from loans from the private collections of Sandy Schreier and Bowles himself.

Photo: Sandi in the City

The exhibit also ”considers the influences on [Balenciaga's] designs of the country’s great artists, from Zurbarán and Goya to Picasso, Sorolla and Miró, and of Spain’s religious dress and ceremony, its royal history, its rich regional costume, its dance traditions, and the power and splendor of the bullfight. “

Photo: GDK is the new black.

I was in raptures pouring over Spanish Master‘s two floors and was especially surprised by Balenciaga’s continued experimentation and ingenuity well into old age and until his retirement in 1968. One could easily see the rich history from which Nicolas Ghesquière regularly culls and reinterprets through the house’s current collections.

Photos: Blend/Koko Royale

Balenciaga: Spanish Master is an experience that any lover of fashion or art or Spanish history should not miss. The exhibition will be on display at the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute through February 19th and is $15 for adults and $10 for students, seniors, and Institute members.

Queen Sofía Spanish Institute  - 684 Park Ave

Like Cristobal Balenciaga, artist Francesco Vezzoli was inspired by religion for his latest exhibition Sacrilegio. He has reimagined 15th- and 16th-century Madonna and Child paintings by Giovanni Bellini, Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli utilizing 80s/90s supermodels including Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Christie Brinkley, Tatjana Patitz, Claudia Schiffer, Stephanie Seymour and Kim Alexis.

Kim Alexis

The exhibit purports to examine “the societal worship of figures from the fashion and celebrity industries” by combining supermodels with historical religious icons.

Cindy Crawford

Vezzoli adorned each painting with “makeup, tattoos and large oblong tears rendered in needlepoint” and the gallery itself has been transformed into a Renaissance chapel. Some of the works also feature an FV with “a needle and thread forming part of the initials.”

Christie Brinkley

The exhibit was interesting and wholly entertaining — I mean, Christie Brinkley crying a giant needlepoint Liza Minnelli tear! I’m surprised I didn’t collapse from the amount of awesome being thrown my way.

Whether you subscribe to the artist’s idea of using these supers to “reflect a reality that has a huge power over our lives” or are just tickled by Naomi Campbell as a holy figure, Sacrilegio is definitely worth seeing. Sacrilegio will be on display at the Gagosian through March 12.

Gagosian Gallery - 522 W 21st St

This guide’s pretty spot-on, however, real supermodels lifespans are much longer.

Sure, the everyday, run-of-the-mill model has a lifespan of about 5 years, longer if they get in right after puberty.

But the Supermodel — the Giseles, Naomis, Lindas, Kates, Imans, Christys and Cindys of the world…they live FOREVER.

Hmm…maybe they are zombies after all.

Link Love: BuzzFeed

Big hair, strong eyebrows and a delicious pout: Dafne Cejas has the iconic look of 90s supermodels. Think Cindy, Linda, Naomi, Christy; think George Michael‘s Freedom 90 video.

And like that music video, Kadel and Sulcer perfectly capture the spirit of the 90s. Think glamor, opulence and a love of wind machines.

“Linda and Naomi… were so important in helping me get all the other models to do my first show….We’d have birthday parties, gatherings and hung out at my apartment before we would go out.”

Imagine, partying with the Supers before heading out on the town? The pounds of cocaine that must have been consumed? The dozens, nay hundreds, of broken martini glasses used as shanks? I miss the 90s.

So was the power of the Supermodel. Linda and Naomi caused quite a stir after wearing some of Sui’s baby doll dresses, before the designer even had her first show, prompting phone calls from the likes of Helena Christensen.

But there’s a downside to all that power.

“It was the most terrifying thing to do fittings with supermodels, because they would come in and look at your Polaroid board, and count how many outfits they had, what order they came out in and who were they next to…They’d literally pull the Polaroid off the board and say they want to wear this. There was a reason they were supermodels, though. When they put on an outfit, everyone was floored.”

Yes, like Spider-Man’s uncle once said right before getting his ass handed to him by an armed robber, “With great power comes great responsibility.” The Supers were a moment in time. A moment where six gorgeous Amazons ruled the catwalks and the airwaves with an iron manicured fist.

A moment that, alas, shall never return.

LINK LOVE: The Huffington Post

The clarity and expressions in these photos are bizarre, you need to check out the rest on FashionIndie’s ENVY.

Originally published in Vogue Italia (March 1994)
Hair – Garren
Makeup – Denise Markey

Beyonce appears in the latest L’Oréal Paris commercial with a “behind the scenes” setup as she shares notes with her background singers. The singer appears wearing a bold red lipstick from L’Oréal’s line of Infallible Never Fail Lipcolour Compacts, a line that is completely “spokesmodel-inspired”. Who else made the inspiration list? Eva Longoria Parker, Diane Keaton, Linda Evangelista, Andie MacDowell, and Kate del Castillo.

LINK LOVE: Stylelist

Love love love this ad staring original supermodel Linda Evangelista for John Galliano Fall 09…

Image via Sassybella

Yet another brilliant Meisel editorial. Sorta makes me wish we could live in black and white for a hot second.

Photographer: Steven Meisel

Model: Linda Evangelista

GALLERY: SPREAD UM: “Urban Decay” Vogue Italia August 2009

Thanks Fashion Copious!

You have to love a good model fight, and this one is definitely for the Supes. Linda versus Naomi!!!!  I can’t believe that this is the first time DSquared2 is launching eyewear, seems like they’ve been around forever. I guess when you start in underwear, you really do have to go from the bottoms up. Tyson Bedford is set to star in the campaign as well. Maybe a three-way cat fight!?! If only we’d be so lucky.

The sunglasses will available in the U.S. in May in stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s and Bergdorf Goodman.

LINKAGE: DSquared2 Gets Shady

We brought you the initial image from DSquared’s S/S 2009 ad campaign a couple weeks ago, and now the rest have been released. Linda fights Naomi some more, and then they have a little cuddle.

Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista square off in a Spring/Summer 2009 ad for DSquared.

Shot by Steven Meisel.

Image from Models.com.

Watch New York Drag Queen Brandy Wine interview Marc Jacobs, John Galliano, Dolce & Gabbana, and supermodel Linda Evangelista. It’s a drunken, fashion gang-bang!

Click here to see the madness!