Cindy Crawford covers last week’s issue of Porter Edit, with a sort of rustic-themed editorial. I hate to admit this, but Cindy really leaves me cold these days. I used to like her so much, but all of the crazy stuff she’s doing to her face bugs me, and I don’t like how she’s pushed her kids into modeling at all. Those are the two subjects Cindy talks about in this piece: her children’s modeling careers and how she views herself and her current place in the modeling/fashion food chain. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:
How she’s remained relevant as a celebrity/model: “You would hope that some of your body of work over 30 years has some kind of staying power. But I keep wanting to do new stuff just to keep myself interested. It’s less inspiring when you’re trying to re-do old pictures of yourself. I just want to be around interesting people. That’s worth it for me.”
She never thought she’d be modeling into her 50s: “I remember thinking at 20 that I’d model for five years, then go back to school and get a real job. Then at 25 I thought it could last five more years. Then at 30, it was the same thing…. I think there was this perception that I wasn’t modeling for a while. I was working, but, not for, you know, Victoria’s Secret. What I think I was good at was seeing myself as a brand, or understanding what ‘Cindy Crawford’ the brand was. It’s all-American, sexy but approachable, and so choosing different jobs that fit that image was one of the first things I was good at.”
On Kaia’s career: “It was a good thing that she couldn’t work on the runway until she was 16. There are laws about that. After that I couldn’t really hold her back. You hope that all of the advice and guidance and role modeling that you did sticks. That’s the stage of parenting when you think, “Ok, hope you can fly!” Kaia had some advantages. She is my daughter and people know that. But when people say that I bought her a cover of a magazine, I think, if I was going to buy a cover for someone, it would be me! If I could get someone into a fashion show, I would be getting it for myself.”
The biggest difference with modeling today: “The thing that’s different is that social media is part of the job. We weren’t constantly being photographed in what we were wearing to the show. There is more pressure to produce content every day. It’s like a hungry little beast, an animal that wants more and more. It’s never like, ‘OK, you’re good.’”
There’s still a market for models past the age of 40: “Women my age want to feel like [designers] are making clothes for us. I’ve gone to stores where I’m a large. I’m the largest size in the store! Especially here in LA – a lot of designers don’t make anything larger than a 42 or a 44. So the brands that can capture that audience and really give them fashion, not just pay lip service to it, are doing the work. Rihanna’s brand Fenty really embraced that idea. There’s a lot to be done in that area, and not just to throw in a token larger woman, or a token older woman. They need to integrate it more.”
Give credit where it’s due: Cindy was always really great at branding herself and for having the self-awareness to understand what she represented and what she was selling. Linda Evangelista was the avant-garde one, the one who could do any look. Naomi was “the diva/vamp.” Cindy was always wholesome-sexy, athletic-normal. Women looked at Cindy and they felt like she was approachable-pretty and men loved her look too. And yes, that vibe and her understanding of that vibe is what gave her career longevity.
As for what she says about how she didn’t “buy” Kaia a magazine cover or buy her daughter’s career…. I mean, that’s not really the criticism lodged at Kaia and Cindy. The argument that I’ve made is that Cindy absolutely pushed Kaia into modeling and Cindy absolutely softened Kaia’s entrance through posing on magazine covers together and introducing Kaia to all of the right people, a particular kind of nepotism and privilege. The reaction to Kaia from fashion professionals has been something though – Kaia has been heralded as the greatest young model in a generation, and really… she’s a teenage girl who looks crazy-young, and she hasn’t really developed her look yet. Kaia’s career was built on hype, and Cindy was a big part of that.
Photos courtesy of WENN, cover courtesy of PorterEdit.
So true.
While her kids are attractive, there is nothing about them that would place them where they are w/out her “name” and pushing. As a parent, I would think she’d want them to get educated first, and not be splashing in with the sharks. And yes, I know her name “protects” them from the seedier side of modeling, that others aren’t afforded.
I don’t know… it just bothers me. We saw Kaia go from a slim young girl to almost emaciated. There’s no way that girl doesn’t have an eating disorder to be that tiny now. Her son, Presley at 19, was arrested in January for driving his Tesla under the influence, and got a DUI. 19!! Why was this kid out drinking and driving at 4 a.m.?? And he’s STILL driving. Sorry…this doesn’t strike me as responsible parenting.
Just my opinion, but Cindy pushed her kids into this for HER glory, for HER to relive HER successes, not for theirs.
Why shouldn’t Kaia and Presley use their mother’s connections? Would you say the same thing about someone who used family connections to get hired at a top law firm?
Also, Presley is over the age of 18, he can be out at any time he chooses. He has a successful modeling career and can buy whatever car he wants. He is making his own choices, not sure why that is a reason to ding his parents.
Presley was just charged with driving while intoxicated and will be arraigned on March 13th. I don’t know if this is a reflection of parenting, but it is on making choices as @Mac alluded too. Not a good choice to drive drunk.
Runway models aren’t typical “attractive” or even pretty. The look like an Alien is more required than being pretty for the runway.
He’s 19…I don’t know if he lives with her. And…he’s 19. She’s going to tell an adult he can’t be out late?
I hope this isn’t considered a duplicate post, but as i wrote in a comment below, many past and current models began their careers as teens. You can look below to see the models and their ages. There are only two models on my list below who weren’t between the ages of 14 (Kate Moss and Kendall Jenner) and 17 (Cheryl Tiegs, Grace Jones, and Cindy Crawford) when they began their modeling careers: and they are Beverly Johnson (age 19) and Iman (in her early to mid-20’s).
It has never been a secret that the vast majority of models start modeling in their mid-to-late-teens.
Folks who are saying 19 is an adult – he’s still too young to drink legally. The drinking age is 21.
@Mac “Would you say the same thing about someone who used family connections to get hired at a top law firm?”
– Absolutely, Yes. In fact I just did earlier today.
@somechick What does that have to do with the fact that he’s too old for mommy to be in charge of his behaviour. We’re not saying his drinking is okay, we are saying that people telling a woman she is in charge of controlling an adult are ridiculous. And probably annoying mothers, themselves.
Kaia is a dead ringer for her mother. No one in fashion could look at her and avoid thinking “Cindy Crawford”. She didn’t need Cindy to introduce her to anyone for that to happen. And if Cindy & Naomi sat down & mapped out what Kaia should do for her modeling career (as Naomi has said), why not take their advice? She still has to show up and do the job. She’s certainly got as much right to it as Gigi, Bella & Kendal.
Cindy and Caitlin Jenner look so much alike that they could be sisters.
Add Nancy Pelosi to that list..
Yes! I thought this was Nancy Pelosi before I read the caption.
I thought it was Nancy too!
Tempest: is it largely taken for granted that it was Cindy’s face that Caitlin Jenner was aiming for in her transformation? It sure looks that way.
Fair enough, I suppose…..I guess you have to give your face surgeon in idea of what you are after, but it’s pretty disconcerting at times, when you genuinely think one of them is the other one!
Well, Glor, I have heard a number of cosmetic surgeons say that the “most wanted” look by (mostly) women seeking their services was that of Cindy Crawford, and that they often brought her photo in to the consultations… Not so much now, I suppose, because she’s looking more and more like Melania Dump. All the women mentioned above seem to have that same “cosmetic surgeon face”.
I literally came here to say that.
OMG! That was going to be my post! WTH happened to her???
Pretty sure it’s the eye surgery she had a few years back that messed things up the most. Upper eyelids. Gave her this hollow look, she used to have completely different eyes https://i.imgur.com/LXPULV1.jpg
In the pic that’s just the closeup of Cindy’s face, at first glance I thought she was Caitlyn Jenner! She needs to stop whatever she’s doing.
and the title of the article is “Supernatural”! Yep. I only skimmed it but there was nothing in there that addressed what she’s had done.
Me too. Never found her super pretty when she was popular and I was like 12. but now I see it that she was quite pretty,but doesn’t always photo the best. Not sure she’s doing anything to her face? She looks nice in her 72 questions, and she seems very nice, relatable.
She’s lost too much weight. As you get older, super thin is not a good look.
As Catherine Deneuve famously said … at a certain age, you have to choose between your face and your ass.
Kaia still looks like a little girl playing dress up. There’s no reason children should be modeling clothes aimed at adult women.
Models start as teenagers and that’s just a fact of life. Her mother, Cindy Crawford, started modeling locally at 16 and was signed by Elite Model Management at 17, Naomi Campbell started at 15, Cybil Shepard started at 16 and won the title of ‘Model of the Year’ at 18, Grace Jones was 17, Cheryl Tiegs was 17, Linda Evangelista started at 16 and was signed by Elite Model Management at 18, Kate Moss started at 14, and hardly anyone batted an eye when Kendall Jenner was signed by Wilhelmina at the age of 14.
There are two models I Googled who started modeling older than the ladies above: Beverly Johnson started modeling at 19, and Iman started modeling in her 20’s.
Just my own opinion, but I hardly think it’s nepotism when you want to do what your parent(s) did and you have the drive and talent to get yourself there. I would buy the argument if she had questionable talent, but by all accounts Cindy’s kid is a true gem of a model.
Weaver wasn’t talking about nepotism. And everyone knows many models start in their teens (although they tend to look like adults whereas Kaia definitely reads as baby), indeed are washed up by 25; there really isn’t reason for it. Except they’re ridiculously tiny in a way most adults do not remain and they’re pliable, too.
She looks like she’s cosplaying Heidi Klum in that hot mess of a dress! Yikes!
But as a catwalk model Kaia is actually really good, even better than her mom. I think she will still be a successful model if she’s not Cindy’s daughter.
Yeah, I think she’s prettier than a lot of the girls and is good on the runway. And has more of a presence than the Kardashian/Hadad girls.
Agree on all counts for not only Kaia, but Kendall, the Hadids etc. I do have to say that Kaia’s catwalk is very good, perhaps even better than Cindy’s.
Her face is looking ruff. Her daughter has a modeling career for the same reason Kylie is “self made.” These women are pretty delusional or arrogant….or both.
Thank you! This! As for Cindy in her hey day she was always stuck on herself. The whole “I studied chemical engineering at Northwestern” she was there for 1 semester. The “when I hosted the Late Late show it had the highest ratings ever” or “Richard Gere was the only time I was dating a celeb bigger than me”. Ugh! The star of those models was Christy Turlington. IMO
Right. And…the infomercials where she has all of her “friends” come out and say how beautiful Cindy is and she just smiles knowingly. Ugh. The best thing that happened to her was Gere and he didn’t stay with her long. Her son just got another DUI. Get your priorities in check mama Cindy!
Yes, she went all out to promote herself as smart and savvy. I don’t doubt she was smart, but the tooting of her own horn was such a turnoff. I remember her first workout video that she promoted as being so effective and well-researched when it came to form and safety. In fact, she was criticized roundly for terrible form in several exercises that could easily have caused injuries for users of that video. I waited for her to acknowledge the errors in her video and issue some corrections — how many women’s magazines back then would have loved to score a Crawford exercise spread like that? I would have respected the hell out of her for taking responsibility for her misinformed, unsafe exercise moves, but that never happened. Christy Turlington, on the other hand, always had that lovely combination of confidence and humility.
There’s a difference between Cindy/Kaia and Kris/Kendall/Kylie. Cindy was one of the most successful models in history. She still works. She still has very close relationships with the designers who helped make her, and they’ve known Kaia since she was born. Kaia has many physical similarities to her mother that make her a natural fit for modeling. It’s still nepotism, but it’s not giving someone a career that they have no business pursuing. Kaia was always going to be a model. She’s always had the connections. She’s very good at it. Cindy didn’t have to buy her career because the designers who watched her grow up already wanted to work with her. This is not Kris Jenner buying careers for her talentless offspring who would never have been considered for them otherwise…
Personally I have more respect for the graft of Kris.
Cindy won a genetic lottery and milked that and then married well etc.
She then opened doors to ensure her lesser genetically gifted child did the same
Kris only had hustle and by God she hustled and hustled and so do her kids
I respect her and the Kardashians. They are phenomenons.
Ronaldinhio-I agree. The Kardashians may be repulsive human beings, but they are hard workers. No one can take that away from them.
@Ronaldinhio I would also respect Kris & the Kardashians if they were not phenomenal liars. Con artists are not worthy of respect because they duped a lot of people seemingly to show they are smarter. Not all people who are gullible are rich fools who deserve it. In 2013, Kim launched an eBay sale of her clothes and accessories for typhoon victims in the Philippines, saying proceeds will go directly to the non profit organisation International Medical Corps. It turned out she only gave ten percent to the charity. She mislead the public and the buyers – these are not admirable people. She is not smarter – she’s just amoral, so is the rest of her family. Sorry, back to cindy crawford . . .
Kaia is scarily thin. It’s really shocking and a clear example of how much thinner the models have gotten. Her mother was twice her size at her age and looked healthy and amazing. Look at Kaia’s Instagram – her poor little legs… it’s terrible. I look at slideshows of the big shows and I’m really looking at the clothes. But I always think, “who’s that model?” and look up at the face when I see shots of Kaia because her legs are really noticeably tiny and bony and unhealthy looking – even compared to all the other extremely thin models. She makes some of their thighs look almost big in comparison and they are tiny! It’s quite sad.
I totally agree with this, it’s genuinely frightening. And it’s not normal teenage girl skinniess, where you think she’ll grow into her body.
Kaia was always slim (when she did the covers with Mommy Dearest). When she was pushed out on her own, she dropped about 15-20 lbs to become this emaciated. I don’t know how the girl stands up on those legs. She’s too thin! If she was my child, I’d be very worried!
Agree.
On Real Housewives of Beverly Hills recently, one of Lisa Rinna’s teen daughters was talking about struggling with an eating disorder. Both of Lisa’s daughters are nepo-models, neither as successful as Kaia. But it made me think of Kaia as the girls are friends with her and Lisa is BFFs with Cindy.
Yes indeed…..I vividly recall my first sight of Cindy, in a Vogue UK beauty supplement in 1981.
She was short-haired, vivacious, and photographed in a swimming pool, she was as muscular and sleek as an athlete.
All the supers were considerably more plumptious than the current requirement, and back then even they seemed unusually slender! My god, how we are conditioned.
(Most of all though…..there was a sparkle in their eyes, and a suggestion of an inner life. Now it seems that unless you are Cara DeleWhatsit and grimacing madly, the trick is to keep your face from all expresssion.)
You are making me so nostalgic! And you are right about what made all those girls so special, they all that had some extra oomph the regular (but still beautiful) models lacked. All of them were so distinctive and unique. Plus their joie de vivre was palpable, and it was intoxicating. Cindy, Naomi, Claudia, Linda, Eva, Christy, Yasmin, Tatjana, etc. etc.
Each fashion era still seems to create a few superstars, but usually only one or two that truly stand out. Back in the golden age there were almost a dozen girls that could be considered super. I miss those days.
The 90s was known as the Heroin chic age, Thinness with no curvature, boy shaped, was the very thing which was prized. Crawford and few others were the exception not the rule. The 90s was extremely thin and one th verge of being anorexic models. That trend no doubt will soon repeat itself. It cycles.
Oh certainly. I’m thinking of the ’80s more really, and just the early ’90s . The supers were still in charge for a good few years.
(I can’t believe I’m rambling about the super models!)
@Glor, ramble away! I loved fashion during the age of the supers and I could have sworn they lasted well into the 90’s too. I just did a quick look and Kate Moss did her iconic Calvin Klein ads in 1993. She was the first heroin-chic model to go mainstream and her arrival marked the beginning of the end for what I consider the golden age of supermodels. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a beautiful woman and has had a blockbuster career, but back then there was nothing about her look that was aspirational to me.
It started with Twiggy in the 60’s, very thin, huge eyes. She did look healthy, or at least she didn’t look like she used drugs to get that thin, it was natural for her.
There are photos of her next to models like Vittoria Ceretti and her thighs are half the size of VC’s. Vittoria is a top high fashion model and extremely thin. Kaia’s knees form sharp points as they are the widest part of her legs. Your legs are supposed to go IN at your knees, not OUT! There are photos of her face where all the major fat deposits are missing and she has bags under her eyes and dark rings and just looks exhausted and unhealthy. It’s awful. When she started out she was thin but healthy looking and she had normal legs. When you look at side-by-side shots of then and now it is seriously alarming.
She’s 16 and close to 6 feet tall. Not that scary thin. If she was 26 and that thin, maybe.
Whenever I see Cindy I remember that she was offered an engineering scholarship at Northwestern. She is a smart woman. I wouldn’t push my daughter into modeling, but it’s her life. I guess chasing fame and money is a goal. I would have preferred the education.
Northwestern doesn’t have engineering scholarships they only offer academic and athletic. What you take is your business & she lasted a semester before leaving. She had the grades & that is amazing but she spins it to make everyone think she was the smartest model. She has proven herself to be a good business woman. She also looks a great deal like Caitlyn Jenner. I’m guessing she didn’t use her smarts to research plastic surgeons as she looks harsh these days
How is an engineering scholarship not an academic scholarship? Not trying to be snarky but I know plenty of kids who have gotten scholarships to study engineering. I will say that it was a bit easier to get into Northwestern in the 80s than it is now.
I also remember her saying it was a chemical engineering scholarship & that they were looking to recruit more women; it wasn’t that she was so keen on chemical engineering, but that was what she was offered & what she went for. And yes, she used that story an awful lot to ‘prove’ to people how smart she was. School was important to her when she was young & I’ve always wondered why she didn’t emphasize it with her kids. Instead, when Kaia was little, they played ‘runway’ and ‘photo shoot’, her versions of ‘dress-up’, I guess.
Part of Cindys brand was being the smart brainy supermodel. For a supermodel who is actually smart and brainy and has actual academic accomplishments (and who hasn’t effed up her face), see Christy Turlington.
My brother when to Northwestern on a academic scholarship. His degree is in aerospace engineering. He was offered an academic scholarship & he chose to study engineering. He applied directly into the engineering program He said he didn’t have “an engineering scholarship” as they don’t exist. That is all I was saying & I also stated it was great she had the grades to get such a scholarship. She made the big deal out it being a chemical engineering scholarship & seldom mentions she was only there until Christmas break freshman year so there was v v little chemical engineering study by Cindy
She’s a taller Rachel Bilson.
Yep!
I double take every time I see her. They could be twins.
They really do look alike, although Rachel looks like she has a personality.
Kaia has the face, height and walk to be a legit model – it would’ve happened without Cindy, but not quite as big so fast.
whatever happened to her other kid, the one who got arrested for DUI? Swept under the rug?
That’s Presley, the one in the photo. It just happened in Jan. so he may not have been sentenced yet.
Yeah that story didn’t get as big as I thought it would have. Maybe he’s just not as big of a name or…
I just posted above that he was charged with driving while intoxicated and will be arraigned March 13th.
As @Ira@Ostone and @ Talie said: her catwalk is great. Give her few more years to grow into her looks and boom!
The advantage of being Cindy’s daughter is that she didnt have to struggle and receive a lot of “No” in the beginning. Cindy knows it.
Her argument is so weak: “if I were to buy a cover it would be for me”. Well, unless she was a narcissist person in competition with her daughter. A 50 year old former model and 16 year old model at the beginning of her career… Apples and oranges, Cindy…
Kaia is a very pretty girl who could easily get roles as the gf in movies etc.., its her brother that has the looks to make is big as a model (if he can get his act together). Me thinks Cindy is trying to remain relevant, esp to the younger generations through her daughter. This is all about Cindy not those kids.
Sounds like Cindy is another stage mom. Kaia was also at a healthier weight before she became a full-time model. Cindy gets major side eye for being okay with her daughter getting scarily thin in order to continue her modelling legacy, especially when you remember that Cindy was a top model who was praised for having an athletic and healthy figure.
Before: https://goo.gl/images/qaLf2L
After: http://www.prothinspo.com/images/kaia-cindy1.
Kaia is a product of nepotism however she is a fantastic catwalk model. Her walk on the runway is fierce and she is one of the best catwalk models out there.
She can reject the idea of nepotism until the cows come home, but that is what a lot of people interested in these things believe. What does it matter to her what the riff-raff think, anyway, apart from being asked that question in interviews, which I’m sure she has a well-rehearsed answer to. She should be more concerned about her new (or are they current?) lips. Blimey.
Cindy was a supermodel for years, and Kaia is her daughter. Kaia is very pretty. She didn’t have to “buy” anything. Agencies will stumble over themselves to sign her. Kaia has the family finances to support her costs. Truth be told it happens every day with celebrities, so I’m not sure why this is even news. It’s often coined “following in their mother’s/father’s footsteps”.
I know a few girls who say ‘I was pre med before I dropped out because I made more money doing hair’. When in fact they were in basic ENG 101 classes and lasted one semester. Ugh. Lol That doesn’t really count if you ask me. Sure, Jane. Also, no shade a people in cosmetology….I know a lady who owns her salon and makes BANK!
Yeah, I’ve always enjoyed that. ‘I was going to be an archaeologist’ or ‘I was going to be a veterinarian’, but they drop out the first year or never even start college. Another favorite is, ‘I was going to be a ballet dancer’, but drop dance lessons at age 8 or 10.
@BeanieBean
There’s no such thing as a “chemical engineering scholarship” to Northwestern; you can earn either an academic or an athletic scholarship – what subjects you study are fully your choice. Cindy received an academic scholarship and then *chose* to study chemical engineering during the semester that she attended. None of what you just said re: Cindy’s scholarship or choice in studies is accurate. It’s an undergraduate major, not a specialized graduate program; you are not recruited or required to study in one specific field when you’ve earned an academic scholarship.
Cindy is being deliberately obtuse here. No one truly thinks Cindy paid Vogue or whomever to put Kaya on thor cover of a magazine.
But most of us know there’s a quid pro quo and/or an overall guidance and rollout of Kaya’s career that’s 100% a result of their relationship.
I’m sure Kaya works hard but like every other case of nepotism and celebrity child following in their parents’ footsteps, her parentage moved her to the front of the line and allowed her to skip much of the grunt work it take to “make it” in modeling.
Kaia got a Marc Jacob Beauty contract really early in her career. I’m sure being Cindy Jr helped with that one.
As a huge model nerd and former model I must say, Kaia is a MUCH more talented model than Cindy. Like… MUCH more. If you go and compare their portfolios, you will notice Cindy is the least talented of the ’90s supers by a huge margin.
Kaia has an excellent walk and she’s very photogenic. I don’t think her look is particularly unique, but the industry favors that kind of look now. The Hadids and Kaia get all the crap for it, but truth is the non-nepo models in the industry nowadays are mostly kinda “pedestrian” as Janice Dickinson would say.
I’m not mad at Kaia’s modeling career at all… modeling has always been the go-to industry for daughters of famous people. If they are actually good and humble about it (unlike Kendall) I don’t have a probem with them.
I disagree with you on several points:
Kaia is a cute teenager. I don’t see how a teen can really be aspirational to an adult woman. Cindy at the height of her career was a sexy, glamorous, GROWN WOMAN. Yes, Cindy started her career in her late teens, but she didn’t look like the teenager next door. She already looked mature. And she was unique enough (she’s not the twin of Gia Carangi or Shana Zadrick), whereas her daughter is very similar to Rachel Bilson.
Kaia is known for her walk, but in her editorials there is a sameness in her face. I haven’t seen a range of expressions, which is an ability that’s abundant in really talented models like Linda Evangelista.
Cindy may not be your cup of tea, but she was the most diversified of the 90s supermodels. Not only did she walk on haute couture runways, she also had lucrative commercial work like Revlon. She was a spokesperson for mainstream advertising for Pepsi, Blockbuster Video, Cadillac, Pizza Hut, etc. Add to that portfolio her successful “House Of Style” show on MTV, her popular workout videos and swimsuit calendar. She was the first top model of her time to pose for Playboy without getting negative repercussions. Seriously, you don’t get that amount of diversified work by being basic. She paved the way and other supermodels (like Claudia Schiffer) copied her career strategy with lesser success. I can’t imagine Kaia getting much work outside of the catwalk.
Also, modeling has not always been the career for daughters of the rich and famous. Not even close. In an earlier time, actresses and models were looked down on by the upper class. They were considered not much better than prostitutes.
Most top models of the last 50 years came from either humble or middle-class backgrounds: Suzy Parker, Dovima, Jean Shrimpton, Twiggy, Lauren Hutton, Beverly Johnson, Jerry Hall, Gia Carangi, Cheryl Tiegs, Paulina Porizkova, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Cindy, Stephanie Seymour, Yasmeen Ghauri, Karen Mulder, Kate Moss, Amber Valletta, Shalom Harlow, and so on. Nepotism models didn’t become glaringly common until the last few years. Socialite models like Edie Sedgwick, Marisa Berenson, and Stella Tennant were outliers and hardly household names.
The fashion industry changed what they wanted in models and it wasn’t for the better. Models have always been the most disposable of employees in the fashion world. The supermodel era temporarily changed that. It was a time when models had a lot of power and autonomy. The prevailing image became one of an independent woman, a “glamazon” in charge of her destiny. Designers eventually resented such independence and were tired of paying their high salaries. They didn’t like the fact that these women were as famous as movie stars and overshadowed the clothes and the merchandise. Funny, because they sure made a lot of money off these models who easily captured the public’s attention. Nevertheless, fashion’s power players killed the supermodel phenomenon.
They couldn’t really eliminate the established top models, but they ended the dominance of the glamazons by promoting Kate Moss, the waif look, and heroin chic (the complete antithesis of the assertive supermodel). They made sure the next generation of models would have less power. Why do you think the heroin chic models in the late 90s walked in a timid fashion on the runway and looked completely strung out in editorials? Why do you think they promoted the image of the naive waif instead of a confident woman? And why do you think they regularly hired 14-year-olds? If models are really young and starving all the time to fit into the required size 2, it’s much easier for the industry to control and manipulate them. Plus, it’s harder for an immature walking clothes hanger to overshadow the clothes.
Sheila, I think that’s a really on point brief history of the industry. Cindy in her prime was really quite something. She had that lightning in a bottle quality (a bottle that is now long since empty.) Kaia is indeed a “basic girl.” I just don’t see anything special about her – not any more so than any other young woman in her peer group. She just doesn’t have that ineffable “it” quality that her mother had. It’s a real pity she wasn’t allowed to grow and develop as a person and to pursue other interests. There is just a sadness to her, and I can’t believe this is what she would have chosen for herself. Cindy chose for her.
I call bunk. There is just no way Kaia would be anywhere near as successful as she is without her mother’s influence. I constantly see young women at my daughter’s high school who blow her away. She’s pretty, but average and bland and just doesn’t have the charisma her mother had.
Kaia isn’t just bland but she is B.L.A.N.D. I don’t hate her but I think it was a mistake to take her out of high school. She should have finished that. And develop a bit more.
Somebody who can make haute couture fashion like Chanel look drop dead boring is a bit more than just “bland”.
Wow, time has not been kind to Cindy. In the homepage, she looks like JLo’s mother when there’s only a 3 year difference!
LOL! J-Lo’s revenge. Cindy once commented that if she had a butt like J-Lo’s she’d kill herself. Or something like that.
Her children are good looking, and I could see allowing them to do a little bit of modeling here and there, but there’s no need for a 16-year-old to have it as a full-time career, especially when her parents are very wealthy. Why not finish school, and explore what else is out there?
Cindy pulled both her kids out of high school claiming there were toxins in the school building. Supposedly they were home schooled/online (looks like Presley did graduate).
https://www.eonline.com/news/570605/cindy-crawford-and-rande-gerber-pull-their-kids-presley-and-kaia-out-of-high-school-find-out-why
Surely the children of a million dollar couple go to an expensive private school? Without toxins?
I am no fan of high school drop out stunts on purpose. High school graduation should be the minimum education everybody gets – even million dollar model offspring.
Loved the early 1990s supermodels and I used to think Cindy was relatable.
Many years ago, Cindy did something that really turned me off. Sometime in the 90s, she did an ad for PETA that was shown in many magazines. She was topless, strategically covered holding a cat, and wearing a hat that said “no fur”. http://amalgameheteroclite.centerblog.net/voir-photo?u=http://amalgameheteroclite.a.m.pic.centerblog.net/o/d669ca78.jpg
I thought it was great she used her fame for a good cause.
Then in 2004, she became the model for the Blackglama furs advertising campaign. https://www.amazon.com/PRINT-Cindy-Crawford-Blackglama-MinksPRINT/dp/B01N9SNE3S
She didn’t have to do this. She wasn’t some starting model who NEEDED the money, who NEEDED the job to increase her profile and build her career. She was asked about it and claimed that she did the photo as a favor to a designer friend (who supposedly was the one advocating PETA’s message) and that she wasn’t really a part of it. Ah, but she got a lot of brownie points for IMPLYING that she was against fur.
Such a hypocrite. No different than Naomi Campbell, who famously posed nude with a group of models for PETA with the caption: “I’d rather go naked than wear fur”. Naomi is frequently seen in public wearing various fur coats. Bunch of phonies. Both of them will sell out as long as the price is right.
Thankfully, Christy Turlington is still a class act.
Those Blackglama ads really made me dislike her. I was stunned she posed for them. Repulsive.
Having tight, filled, smooth skin does not make one look younger than one’s actual age. See also Madonna. You can only look great at your age but you cannot make yourself look a decade younger.
Speak for yourself, sweetheart.
Beg to disagree, Adrien!
Perhaps you can make yourself look 5-7 years younger. But a decade?
Madonna is a good example of trying to look 15 years younger going wrong. Her cheeks are tight a.f. but the skin around her eyes … more difficult to filler up and such.
If you google madonna without photoshop … you will see. Same for Jane Fonda.
I think Diane Keaton sets a good example. She is 73 and she doesn’t erase her whole life from her face. She still looks like Diane Keaton. But not “old”.
Maybe she would have made it on her own. Maybe not. There are tons of beautiful and talented girls who don’t make it. Who her mother is makes a huge difference. I get sick of these people acting like it doesn’t.
There’s a reason Cindy’s cover is taken from such a distance. You barely see her face.
That comment about how she would have gotten covers for herself and not her daughter was ridiculous. If I had a choice between doing something for myself and helping my daughter, my daughter would win every time. She’s either selfish or stupid. Serious 🙄 eye roll here.
“I reject the idea that I have work tomorrow morning.”
Denial doesn’t alter the truth, but if she can try why can’t I?
I don’t think Kaia would be a model at all, let alone a top couture model, without her mother being Cindy Crawford. She doesn’t quite look like her mom, and aside from being tall, there is nothing model-esque about her. I’m sure it sucks to have people constantly say your kid doesn’t deserve to be where they are, but it’s a fact that Cindy’s status got Kaia where she is today. I don’t even think Kaia really has the goods to be in a catalog.
I lost all respect for Cindy when she flipped out when that photographer released those unedited pics of her. She tried to say they were altered, which is bullshit. If you google images of her, you’ll see that she DID have stretch marks… there are a lot of pics of her in a bikini on the beach with them on display. The fact that she reacted so negatively to being anything less than perfect was so gross to me.
Cindy didn’t buy Kaia’s modeling career. She just made a few phone calls. 😉
Nepotism at its best. No money involved.
Kaia always looks as if she doesn’t want to be there and as if she doesn’t enjoy it. Or maybe she is just hungry.