Timeless beauty: the most iconic models since the 1940s
As fashion week fever mounts in New York, Paris and London, all eyes are on the coolest girls in the business -- the models. But how do Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner and their rat pack of beautiful friends compare to the catwalk bombshells of the past?
A new interactive gallery launched by retailer Long Tall Sally honors the most iconic models to have walked the most famous runways and graced the biggest magazine covers over the past 72 years. The concept marks the anniversary of the first official Fashion Week, which was held in New York in 1943.
‘Models of the Moment' features 27 women from the 1940s to today, ranging from models-turned-movie legends such as Rita Hayworth to the modern-day social media sensation that is Kendall Jenner. It pinpoints the women who became the "faces" of their eras and explores the uniqueness of their appeal.
From rakish Sixites icon Twiggy to the Amazonian Elle Macpherson, each model has been sketched by fashion illustrator Shira Barzilay, demonstrating how body shape ideals have evolved since 1943. Each model's height, shoe size and bust to waist and hip ratio are detailed.
In the 50s it was all about New York model Dovima and her miniscule 19-inch waist and hourglass curves, while the 80s saw the rise of the athletic body type embodied by Linda Evangelista and the late 90s, famous for the "heroin chic" aesthetic, heralded the arrival of slim catwalk queen Kate Moss. Curvaceous Brit Sophie Dahl, the 6ft 3 German beauty Veruschka and the diminutive Dorian Leigh, who stood at just 5ft 5 inches, prove that fashion has seen plenty of changes when it comes to its most iconic women.
This decade's faces include Instagram phenomenon Kendall Jenner, who has a following of 25.5 million fans on the social media site, UK star Jourdan Dunn, who strutted her pregnant bump down the runway at Paris Fashion Week in 2010, and the ‘Queen of Quirkiness' Cara Delevingne.
Check out the full gallery at www.longtallsally.com/i/models-of-the-moment
