Supermodels hot again

BY CATHERINE CAINES

Supermodels are again the new black on magazine covers.

A major shift in the publishing industry has seen them topple Hollywood's A-list celebrities off the covers of the world's leading fashion mags.

"Those celebrity covers are so ubiquitous nowadays and they don't really have the same sales drive that they used to," says Vogue Australia editor Kirstie Clements.

"Also, they are so tied up with their own deals, endorsements and products that it's all become a bit farcical and you can't get them to go on that fashion journey with you like you can with a supermodel."

Fashion loves a comeback, and Miranda Kerr and other Aussie superstars are the new breed of supermodels who have finally smashed through the celebrity cartel, seizing back front covers and advertising campaigns with a vengeance.

Their rise coincides with falling magazine sales, a shift that has forced once uncompromising editors to rethink their front cover policies.

"With the growth of the celebrity culture you know so much about stars' lives and they are not regarded as a blank canvas, whereas models still have a degree of anonymity and mystery surrounding them," says Catherine McNeil, a front cover favourite of Paris Vogue, Vogue Australia, V magazine and Numero.

"The pendulum has swung back to appreciating models," agrees Jessica Hart, whose portfolio includes a contract with H&M.

"I just think it's a refreshing change ... the other good thing about Australians is that there is not one specific look ... we are all different."

But stealing front covers off best-sellers like Kate Hudson, Angelina Jolie, Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Jessica Parker and Jennifer Aniston requires much more than genetically blessed long legs.

Models must challenge the Hollywood marketing machine and launch their own celebrity via new media.

"At this point in time I think it's a fairly even battle," weighs in Abbey Lee Kershaw on the competition between celebrities and models for front covers.

"For every celebrity in a big campaign there's a model in another, and same goes with covers.

"Building a profile is everything being a model is about, so it's vital to work hard at that to win stage time."

The financial crisis has forced labels to consider alternatives to high maintenance stars whose wattage does not necessarily translate into sales.

"Big stars demand so much like limousines, first class travel, hotels," says casting director Nikola Koke.

"Brands can get a girl for $100K and their campaign gets done with no other maintenance.

"At Paris fashion week the celebrities in the front row take more time to organise than the shows themselves."

With luxury houses now thinking twice about splurging on expensive A-listers the industry has come full circle and is again hiring supermodels for major advertising campaigns.

In turn, this places pressure on editors to feature them on their magazines' front covers.

"Today's supermodels have to work really hard to get every job, but from a personality point-of-view they don't have to conform to a certain stereotype, today supermodels are applauded for individuality," says Elyse Taylor, Australian Vogue front cover favourite.

"Fortunately I think editors are now starting to realise that readers can relate to models and are deciding to put us back on the covers."

But this time around these media savvy beauties are armed with an unofficial marketing machine in the guise of fashion bloggers who have made them internet stars.

"There are moments after shows where I feel like I'm ready to explode into a billion tiny pieces if I hear my name being yelled at me one more time," Kershaw says about the constant attention from bloggers outside various fashion week events.

"Then there's other moments of the realisation that those bloggers are probably building my profile and only really trying to succeed at something they are good at."

In fact the bloggers, along with tabloid newspapers and television, became supermodels' crucial, if somewhat prickly, supporters, just when glossies were ignoring them.

"In a way it's a bit of a pain really because some parts of your life you just want to keep private," says Taylor about her love-hate relationship with the media, "but I do accept that you have to reveal something of your life to make yourself more interesting."

"I think the internet and digital media advances have influenced models' profiles," says McNeil, before admitting she feels the pressure from constant media scrutiny.

"Images from one shoot can be seen everywhere over the net. It can really freak me out sometimes."

But with the fashion industry increasingly aligning itself to new media and audiences outside of Hollywood, who better to replace over-exposed celebrities than supermodels who act like rebels.

"Everyone in the public eye faces this scrutiny and some publications see more value in placing the negatives before the positives as it sells more magazines and newspapers," says McNeil before adding, "people with a strong sense of self will always be more attractive regardless of whether they are celebrities or models."

- AAP