The Greatest of All Time: Christy, Cindy, Linda, Naomi Cover Vogue US & UK September 2023

Gathering before their Apple TV+ four-part documentary Vogue US and British Vogue’s September 2023 issues honor ‘The Greatest of All Time’ models, the ‘Supersonic Supers’. The interviews and shoot predated the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Sally Singer writes about those two days in May in ‘Linda, Cindy, Christy, Naomi! The Iconic Supers Open Up About Their Fabulous Then—and Now’.

British Vogue EIC Edward Enninful styles the fashion story with supers Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, and Naomi Campbell. Enninful will be changing his role within Condé Nast, where the March 2024 issue of British Vogue will be his last as EIC, while simultaneously overseeing the editorial content of Condé Nast-owned European issues.

Edward has worked in one capacity or another at Condé Nast for 25 years. In 2024, he will now become Vogue’s global creative and cultural adviser and editorial adviser at British Vogue. One major change is that Enninful will be free to work on other projects, and one assumes he will have significant opportunities in the commercial sector.

Rising star photographer Rafael Pavarotti [IG] was in the studio with these four supers over two days in early May. What a great opportunity for him. Stefan Beckham was in charge of set design; hair by Eugene Souleman except Naomi who is Shani Wigs; makeup by Stephane Marais except Naomi who is Adam Fleischhauer.

The four-part documentary ‘The Super Models’ is set to debut September 20, on AppleTV+. Singer writes:

Directed by Roger Ross Williams and Larissa Bills for Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment, the series paints in both broad and fine strokes a picture of the style community in the late ’80s to mid-’90s, when high fashion went from a niche hobby for aspirational clothes hounds to a pillar of mainstream entertainment standing alongside film, television, and music.

The Song That Says It All! George Michael - Freedom! ‘90

These women were Supersonic Supermodels flying the Air France or British Airways Concordes between New York and Paris or London between 1976 and 2003. The three-hour flight was fantastic — although also one more opportunity to press the schedules of busy people.

More than once I left New York in the morning, went to Europe for meetings and was back for a late dinner. Today’s self-proclaimed ‘Lazy Girls’ say we were crazy, but to each her own. Singer describes ours as an “utterly bananas work ethic” and that is true.

These women were relentless in their pursuit of excellence, and it’s always been my argument that this is why the fashion industry — including fashion media — had to cut models down to size. Literally. Singer has a passage in her Vogue story called They Were Friends . . . they were and they still are.

Singer speaks to the authenticity of the Supermodels, calling them an original girl band. “There was a sisterhood there, defined by caring and loyalty: When one is down you pick the other one up.” That includes the entire fashion family of designers, stylists, media.

The point of the segment is that the supers had their own share of men problems, as Linda shared details of her marriage to French modeling agent Gérald Marie. Christy insists that Linda has confused her with another person, who confronted Evangelista about her husband’s playground. But Christy does recall “a time when a previous boyfriend was screwing around, and that, on a shoot with Irving Penn in Paris, she was distraught and ashamed and vented to Linda. By the end of the day, they were both laughing.”

Singer closes out with the zinger:

Moral of the story: Men are dogs, even to supermodels.

It was my intention to end these excerpts with “moral of the story . . . “ quote above, but let’s take the high road as Singer provides a great ending — one so not Page Six.

Linda’s son Augie is the son of François-Henri Pinault, with whom he spends holidays. Pinault is married to actor Salma Hayek, who reinvented Evangelista’s Thanksgiving one year.

The fabulous Salma Hayek flew across the Atlantic to cook Thanksgiving dinner for Linda Evangelista!

“I was sick at Thanksgiving,” says Linda. “And Salma got on the plane with her daughter, came here, and made Thanksgiving dinner. She asked what I wanted—it was a very eclectic wish list. I wanted her Mexican chicken with truffled potatoes. And she spent the day in the kitchen and cooked it herself. No help. The kids helped her at the end. She made a feast—a beautiful, beautiful meal. I had told her that I wasn’t going to have Thanksgiving; I wasn’t feeling well. And she said,

‘Oh yes you are: I am coming.’ And poof, she was here.”