From the Nineties “supes” — who are still going strong — to the day’s freshest faces, WWD’s always had a thing for models. We’ve chronicled what they were talking about backstage, who’s dating who, and who went splat on the Prada runway (here’s a tip: practice walking in heels!) Here, a handy guide to 13 mannequins who’ve generated the most ink.
Compiled by Véronique Hyland.
Moss shot to fame almost two decades ago in images taken by Corinne Day, and she’s still making headlines. From Calvin Klein ads in the Nineties to a cocaine bust in 2005, to proclaiming "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels," the waifish icon never met a controversy she didn’t like.
"A supermodel can make anything look sexy, and they say I’m the sexiest of them all," Campbell wrote in her 1994 novel "Swan" (yes, she published a novel) about one of her mannequin characters, but she might as well have been talking about herself. Despite her troubles with the law, this supermodel remains a classic beauty.
Born in Canada, Werbowy opened for Prada at 19 and has been a face of Lacome, Louis Vuitton and Matthew Williamson for H&M. When she’s not modeling, she focuses her energies on environmental activism.
The sunny St. Louis teen has a chameleon-like quality that has allowed her to transform into an otherworldly alien at Alexander McQueen, a tattooed wild child at Rodarte and a ladylike vamp at Versace — and that’s all in one season.
The ultimate cool blonde, this East Village resident actually began her modeling existence as a redhead. Since her start, she’s been inspiring major designers, from Marc Jacobs (who named a bag after her) to Karl Lagerfeld, who shot her for a recent Fendi campaign.
"Now that’s a woman!" shouted a photographer at the Spring 2010 Zac Posen show when Coco sashayed down the runway. Whether she’s mud-wrestling or doing an impromptu Highland fling (she’s a Celtic dancer), Rocha always seems to find a way to stand out on the runway.
Since being discovered in her native Dominican Republic in 2008, Sosa has worked with photographers like Mario Testino and Steven Meisel, and she even landed a gig as the face of Lancome.
Back in 2002, WWD called Vodianova "one of the hottest models stalking runways this season" and predicted she’d be the new Kate Moss. She certainly follows in Moss’s model-turned-designer mold, having recently designed a lingerie line for Etam.
With her gap teeth and creamy skin, Lara Stone looks a bit like a milkmaid in an eighteenth-century painting — a part she played to perfection in Chanel’s rustic romp of a show. But she can also do dark and edgy, as she’s proved on the Givenchy runway. Up next for this stunner is a Louis Vuitton campaign.
Seeing that her name immediately evokes two fashion icons, Chanel Iman was probably a shoo-in for the modeling industry. Her runway work runs the gamut — one day, she’ll appear in the televised Victoria’s Secret show, the next jet off to haute couture week in Paris. Plus, she’s recently announced plans for both a fashion line and her own blog.
Hailing from China’s Hunan province, Wen has had a prolific runway presence in the past few seasons, walking for everyone from Chanel to Victoria’s Secret (she was the first Asian model booked for the latter’s runway show.)
The ginger-haired model made a memorable entrance as an Emma Peel-esque vamp at the beginning of the fall 2010 Hermes show. She’s also tried her hand at acting, having appeared as the ingenue in Terry Gilliam’s "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus."
The flame-haired stunner moved to Nashville and reinvented herself as asinger, but she’s still very much a part of the fashion world, walkingfor designers like Anna Sui and making the party rounds. And shedefinitely knows how to laugh at herself — note her mirthful reactionto her fall a few seasons ago at Zac Posen.
The model-slash-actress/singer/designer is not a new phenomeon, but the latest batch of hyphenates are increasingly serious about their new careers. Whether it’s Kate Moss’ Topshop line or Karen Elson’s album, their endeavors are getting plenty of attention. And new faces like Constance Jablonski and Frida Gustavsson are popping up all the time.