For the first time since the golden age of the runway, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington are coming together in a candid setting for a documentary series on Apple TV+ that’s been aptly named, The Supermodels.
Talk of The Supermodels first flourished in 2020, but due to unspecified setbacks, it remained in production and under wraps. Now, after almost three years of anxiously waiting, the series has finally been given a premiere date: 20 September. Mark it in your fashion week calendars ‘cause its coming smack dab in the middle of fashion’s most mischievous month.
Under the direction of Barbara Kopple – the two-time Academy Award-winning documentarian behind 1976’s Harlan County USA and 1990’s American Dream – The Supermodels is a rigorous retrospective, looking back at the crux of the girl’s careers in the ‘80s and ‘90s. This story though, is a different kind of American Dream, one pegged by glitz, glam and, the darker, Heroine Chic.
To unfold over four riveting parts, it begins in the ‘80s when four gorgeous gals from the four corners of the world, united in New York. On that day, a new era was born: the age of the supermodels. Bringing all the affairs that went on behind the scenes to the silver screen, it’s the best kind of fashion flashback – one that might let us in on a bit of hot goss’ or industry secrets if we’re lucky. It also examines how the glitterati girls found their footing in an industry that, especially at the time, was extremely cut-throat, how they exploded onto the scene, dealt with the vicissitudes and built up an unstoppable inertia that’s still rolling down the runway today.
The streaming platform explained in a statement: “Already forces in their own right, the gravitas they achieved by coming together transcended the industry itself. Their prestige was so extraordinary that it enabled the four to supersede the brands they showcased, making the names Naomi, Cindy, Linda, and Christy, as prominent as the designers who styled them.” Ultimately, they transformed the industry’s views on what a model ought to be. They were never carte blanche, they were always the piece de resistance. The world was their catwalk.
Through exclusive interviews, revisit their heyday and the collective disruption of the ‘90s fashion scene that they unwittingly unleashed and still reverberates today. All of the women have remained on the frontlines of culture through “activism, philanthropy, and business prowess”, paving the way forward.
While there’s no word yet as to who else is set to reflect on their ’90s reign, we can expect a whole slew of designers – from historical big hitters who collaborated with them during those pivotal period in their lives, to emerging talents who were strongly influenced by their unapologetic prowess, covetable looks and joie de vivre – to weigh in.
Photography courtesy of @cturlington. ‘The Supermodels’, from Imagine Documentaries, will be available for streaming from September 20 on Apple TV+. The Supermodels is directed by Barbara Kopple and executive produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Sara Bernstein and Justin Wilkes, who are joined by the four supers and Kopple.
