Walk, Walk, Fashion Baby

The 80s were a decade of excess when it came to fashion - bold colours, flashy accessories and over the top hair.  I was a kid in the 80s, so I wasn't into fashion much at that point, but what I do remember being obesessed with was 80s supermodels - Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Helena Christensen, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington,  Claudia Schiffer...the list goes on.  In those days, no celebrities graced the cover of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar or any other credible fashion magazine.  Real, live supermodels did!

Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista,  Tatjana Patitz, Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford on the cover of Vogue.
These ladies were so big that they even were in a music video together (George Michael's "Freedom")

These days, supermodel is not a word that is tossed around much and you'd find it hard to even think of any except maybe Gisele.  Celebrities from the world of movies, tv and music seem to be on the covers of most major magazines and even big ad campaigns from high end (think Emma Watson in Burberry) to medium price point (Kate Hudson in Ann Taylor).

Personally, I miss the days when the people who were in fashion were true lovers of fashion and were immersed in that world.  Fashion is an escape and an outlet for many people, including me.  There is a certain credibility and glamour that is lacking when you see some B-list actress or singer with a couple of big hits on the cover of W for no reason other than they are famous.  Back in the day, models were often elevated to that "supermodel" status and put on magazine covers because fashion experts like photographers and designers saw something inspiring in them that they wanted to share with the world.  As shallow as it sounds, supermodels helped make high fashion accessible to the masses but not so accessible that the glamour and fantasy of it all was lost in the process.

So what am I trying to say here?  Bring back the supermodels, the glamazons with mile long legs, high cheekbones and the sense that fashion is a fantasy for us all to wish we could live in.