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Return of the Original Squad: Helena Christensen to Christy Turlington, how '90s supermodels are bringing sexy back

Christensen recently sizzled in a sexy lockdown photoshoot and here's how other divas are bringing the golden age of being sexy back
UPDATED APR 20, 2020
Paulina Porizkova, Christy Turlington, Helena Christensen (Getty Images)
Paulina Porizkova, Christy Turlington, Helena Christensen (Getty Images)

Sunbaked skins, sashaying hips, sultry expressions, and skimpy outfits—the '80s and '90s were a rage for the fashion industry. It was a dream for young models to strut down the runway and dominate the industry with glitz, glamour, and gusto.

Gone are the days when a glimpse of glistening bodies on magazine covers was enough to have your eyes glued. A lot has changed, the world has now cocooned into cell phones and laptop screens, where everything is available at one click! But as they say: Old is gold! There is something about the charm of the golden age that draws you in its inexorable claws, doesn't it?

It's not easy to forget Christy Turlington's Eternity campaigns for Calvin Klein or the time when 'Ugly Sisters'—Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, and Turlington—dominated Vogue Italia covers. It's time to recall Gianni Versace's Fall 1991 show where models strutted arm-in-arm as 'Freedom! ’90' played on the ramp and the way they graced Gucci and Prada's puffed-up blouses, prairie dresses, and pleated power suits. From Paulina Porizkova to Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell, the fashionistas knew how to make your knees go weak with just one look. 

Where is the original squad of supermodels now? Just recently, Helena Christensen sizzled in a sexy lockdown photoshoot and here's a look at how other divas' career has progressed over the years. Feast your eyes on these 10 supermodels who made your heartbeat thump a little louder with just the sound of a step and are still bringing the sexy back.

Paulina Porizkova

Paulina Porizkova: 1987 and 2010 (Getty Images)

Paulina Porizkova stepped into the fashion industry when she was just 18. In the early 1980s, an aspiring make-up artist friend sent some pictures of Porizkova to the Elite modeling agency and instead of the friend's make-up skills, Porizkova's looks caught their eyes. Soon, she rose to become a top model in Paris and was the first woman from Central Europe to be on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She didn't have to look back.

On April 9, 2020, she celebrated her 55th birthday with a throwback photo of herself from a vacation in Costa Rica where she is clad in a gold bikini. She wrote, "So today, I am looking at myself, (in an admittedly flattering photo) and think, “Hey, I m a good 55-year-old! ” I will feel pretty today. And endlessly grateful for all the gifts life has bestowed on me thus far."

The model married The Cars frontman Ric Ocasek and is still mourning the loss of her estranged husband after his tragic death in September.

Claudia Schiffer

Claudia Schiffer: 1995 and 2017 (Getty Images)

Claudia Schiffer's career as a model took off purely by chance. An aspiring lawyer, she worked in her father's law firm and was spotted at a nightclub in Düsseldorf by Michel Levaton, the head of the Metropolitan Model Agency. Her fame rose in the early 1990s, she was compared to Brigitte Bardot and was a part of Guess? campaigns. Guess? co-founder Paul Marciano even credited Schiffer for the brand's popularity.

She also starred in films like 'Friends & Lovers', 'Black and White', 'In Pursuit' and 'Love Actually'. She launched her cashmere collection and started a chain of restaurants called Fashion Café along with fellow models Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, and Elle Macpherson.

 At 49, she stunned onlookers on the cover of Elle and brought back 2010-vibes. Opening up about the yesteryear culture, she told Elle UK, "People would cut holes in the fashion tents and try to take pictures of us. When I was out on the runway I'd come back and constantly my underwear would be gone. My bra, my knickers... gone!"

Cindy Crawford

Cindy Crawford: 1998 and 2018 (Getty Images)

Cindy Crawford got her first assignment when a store hired a few high-school girls for a fashion shoot and later, local photographer Roger Legel clicked her picture for a magazine helping her enter the Elite Model Management's Look of the Year contest at 17. She turned out to be the runner-up. 

Not only did she strut the ramp for some of the biggest brands like Chanel, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Christian Dior, Calvin Klein, and Ralph Lauren, she was the showstopper for the Versace spring/summer 2018 fashion show to pay a tribute to the late Gianni Versace.

Shedding light on how she changed the ballgame, fashion designer Michael Kors once said, "Cindy changed the perception of the 'sexy American girl' from classic blue-eyed blonde to a more sultry brunette with brains, charm, and professionalism to spare."

At 54, she is married to businessman and former model Rande Gerber and is a mommy of two kids. She recently showed off her modeling skills with a business photoshoot and even went on to reveal how she was told to remove her beauty mark and her sisters even labeled it as an 'ugly mark'. In times of the coronavirus lockdown, she did a virtual FaceTime photoshoot for her Instagram followers.

Kate Moss

Kate Moss: 1995 and 2019 (Getty Images)

Kate Moss started modeling at the age of 14. Photographer Corinne Day shot her on his camera and called the snapshots "dirty realism" or "grunge". Her appearance was popularly called the "waif look," and after being a part of several campaigns, she earned the status of the "anti-supermodel" of the 1990s. She was in stark contrast to the original supermodels, like Cindy Crawford, Elle Macpherson, Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell, known for their tall and slender frames.

In the 2000s, her hard-party lifestyle was exposed in the public and that took a toll on her career. After going into rehab, she slowly made her way back. From being the face of British Vogue to doing a nude shoot for the bold Towel Series, Moss still makes heads turn even though she is a mom to a teenage daughter.

Christy Turlington

Christy Turlington: 1994 and 2019 (Getty Images)

At barely 14, Christy Turlington was riding a horse in Miami, Florida when photographer Dennie Cody discovered her. She started modeling when she was in school and went on to become a rage in the fashion industry. Her face was on the cover of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Marie Claire, and, Cosmopolitan and she was featured in big advertising campaigns for Calvin Klein, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Jacobs, Versace, Louis Vuitton, and Michael Kors.

Not just a pretty face, she was also instrumental in starting several business ventures and was an active participant in humanitarian activities. Even at 51, she continues to wow fans with magazine cover shoots and doesn't shy away from posting no-makeup posts on Instagram. Married to Edward Burns, she is a mommy of two kids, Grace, and Fin.

Naomi Campbell

Naomi Campbell: 2000 and 2019 (Getty Images)

Did you know Naomi Campbell starred in Bob Marley's 'Is This Love' music video at the age of seven? At 12, she tap-danced in the music video for Culture Club's 'I'll Tumble 4 Ya'. While she was still a student, she was scouted by Beth Boldt, head of the Synchro Model Agency, and soon made it big with a British Elle cover shoot just before her 16th birthday. 

Joining the brigade of supermodels of the 1990s, she soon worked with top designers as Gianni Versace, Azzedine Alaïa, and Isaac Mizrahi and was recognized for her charity work. Nelson Mandela once called her his "honorary granddaughter" and she regards record producers Quincy Jones and Chris Blackwell adopted father figures as she never met her biological father.

The model, however, was embroiled in a number of controversial assault cases and had to go through rehab after a five-year cocaine and alcohol addiction. 

Even at 49, she continues to be a driving force in the fashion industry. She received the prestigious Fashion Icon Award at the CFDA's ceremony and clinched the first beauty contract of her career with NARS Cosmetics in 2019. She is also one of the judges on Amazon Prime's new show 'Making The Cut' and keeps posting gorgeous pictures on Instagram. 

Helena Christensen

Helena Christensen: 1994 and 2020 (Getty Images)

A Danish supermodel and photographer, Helena Christensen is a former Victoria's Secret Angel and beauty queen. She starred in the 1990 music video for Chris Isaak's song 'Wicked Game' and it went on to be counted among the Sexiest Videos of All-Time. In 1996, she was hailed as one among 'The Magnificent Seven', along with Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Elle Macpherson, and Claudia Schiffer.

The model worked on a photography series and has been on both sides of the camera. Through 2018 and 2019, she closed the Versace spring/summer fashion show and walked the runway for Dolce & Gabanna. She has been in long term relationships with Michael Hutchence, actor Norman Reedus, and Paul Banks. The 51-year-old continues to surprise fans with her enviable figure, and her latest sexy swimsuit photoshoot in New York during the coronavirus crisis is making waves on Instagram.

Elle Macpherson

Elle Macpherson: 1992 and 2015 (Getty Images)

The Australian model is best known for her record five cover appearances for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Not only was Elle Macpherson a prominent host on Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model from 2010 to 2013, but she also starred in 'Batman and Robin', 'Friends' and 'Saturday Night Live'. When the media created a hysteria by searching for her nude photos, she appeared in a nude pictorial in the May 1994 issue of Playboy magazine to prove a point and to do it "on her own terms." 

She went in a relationship with Billy Joel in the early 1980s and songs like 'This Night', 'And So It Goes' and 'Uptown Girl' are said to have been inspired by her. She was married to Gilles Bensimon and Jeffrey Soffer but is allegedly dating anti-vax activist Andrew Wakefield. Even at 55, she glows and looks summer chic in make-up free photos on Instagram. With her long legs and svelte figure, she has raised the heat in her recent photoshoots as well. 

Linda Evangelista

Linda Evangelista: 2003 and 2015 (Getty Images)

Featured on over 700 magazine covers, the Canadian beauty is one of the top supermodels from the 1990s. The longtime muse of photographer Steven Meisel, Linda Evangelista is most remembered for her phrase, "We don't wake up for less than $10,000 a day." Her bob cut was nicknamed as "The Linda" and she was popular as the "chameleon" of the fashion industry. 

She married Gérald Marie but divorced him after six years, was engaged to Kyle MacLachlan for a brief period and later dated French soccer player Fabien Barthez. She was pregnant with his baby but miscarried six months into the pregnancy. At 54, she lives in England with her son and shares travel snapshots with her followers on Instagram regularly. 

Stephanie Seymour

Stephanie Seymour: 2003 and 2015 (Getty Images)

Born in San Diego, Stephanie Seymour was a familiar face in numerous issues of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Vogue as well as the primary lingerie and hosiery model for Victoria's Secret. She also posed for Playboy and was immortalized after her stint in the Guns N' Roses songs 'Don't Cry', 'November Rain' and 'Estranged'. From 'A League Of Their Own' to 'Modern Muses', top magazines constantly tagged her as one of the original supermodels along with other '90s beauties. 

Later, she went on to launch her lingerie line named Raven & Sparrow. Seymour was involved with Elite model management head John Casablancas, guitarist Tommy Andrews and  Axl Rose, the lead singer of Guns N' Roses. She then married billionaire Peter Brant and divorced him after 14 years. However, the couple reunited in 2010 and she is mother to three kids. Even at 51, she poses for top fashion brands and wows fans with bold cover shoots for Vogue and other high-profile magazines.

The original supermodels from the 1980s and 1990s have hacked the secret to eternal beauty. As Frank DeCaro of the New York Times once said: "Known by their first names to legions of fans, they are the supermodel legends of the modern catwalk, the girl next door pretty underneath all the paint". It's a thing of joy and marvel that these beauty queens continue to sprinkle style, swank, and splendor even after three decades, isn't it?

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