Christy, Linda, Naomi, Cindy & Tatjana by Peter Lindbergh for Vogue Australia as 'Supernova'

With the launch of its five-part Model series, leading off with Lara Stone, Vogue Australia will look back at the original supermodels and the photographer who helped shape their images. Peter Lindbergh was frequently in the company of Christy, Linda, Naomi, Cindy and Tatjana who “ruled the catwalks and pretty much anywhere else they deigned to walk”, writes Vogue Australia. 

Of the five supermodels ushering in the madness that accompanied British Vogue’s January edition, four remain very much in the public eye. Tatjana Patitz has lived in Malibu since 1989 and has made other life choices, according to the environmental and animal rights activist. 

Writing about this topic of supermodels in 2009, the Guardian noted:

The supermodel era ended in the mid-90s. The all-powerful names were replaced by grungy waifs on the catwalks, and actors and pop stars on the covers of magazines. You could argue that while the supermodels may have become monsters, at least they were better than the young models paraded today, grey and anonymous, their invisibility and powerlessness physically manifested in their extreme thinness. The supers were never like that.

In the same article, the Guardian asks Patitz if she would want to be a model today. She replies:

It’s hard to say. I honestly don’t know. It would be much more difficult because there’s a sea of girls. It’s almost like a fast-food market - a girl does well for a few seasons, then she’s forgotten. Whereas before, it would take you a few seasons to get going and it was more possible to have longevity.

Original Supermodels in order: Christy Turlington Miami Beach 1993 by Peter Lindbergh; Cindy Crawford Miami Beach 1995 by Peter Lindbergh; Tatiana Patitz Deauville 1990 by Peter Lindbergh; Naomi Campbell Deauville 1988 by Peter Lindbergh; Linda Evangelista Paris 1990 by Peter Lindbergh

Christy Turlington Miami Beach 1993 by Peter LindberghCindy Crawford Miami Beach 1995 by Peter LindberghTatiana Patitz Deauville 1990 by Peter LindberghNaomi Campbell Deauville 1988 by Peter LindberghLinda Evangelista Paris 1990 by Peter Lindbergh