The Super Models

Hi.

I don't think I'm gonna be able to do it, because I'm at work.

So, I don't think it's gonna happen today, for me.

This will be really easy to slip on.

And the shoes works, I think.

Yeah, so this one. Okay.

- I prefer this one. - It's magic fabric, isn't it?

This is perfect, look. And the shining is perfect.

Well, people always, they're like, "You look just like Kaia."

- I'm like, no she looks like me. - Exactly.

- She looks like you. Come on. - I had it first.

Yeah, exactly.

I think it might be Dior.

- From New York Vintage. -

- Chic, right? - So chic.

I heard you wanted maybe company, Linda.

Yeah, now they came to fit.

Okay, when you're-- When you're done...

Oh, my God. This feel so nineties, this camera.

- Where did this come from? -

How do you define the word, "supermodel"?

I don't.

I like to be simple about things, like call a spade a spade.

Model, a model.

Christy's, like, the most beautiful.

Was never a dream, I never really thought about it.

It just sort of happened, and then it became much bigger than I ever expected.

She's a classic beauty.

You see our photo, our image,

so you feel that you know us.

But there's no words that go with our pictures.

People only just see this part of us, they don't know what we're like inside,

and they have a whole different idea of what we are.

Naomi...

...is like this fierce goddess.

We were the physical representations of power.

Like, we looked like strong women.

And we would look in the mirror and we started believing that.

I mean, I was ambitious, I wanted to do something,

I wanted to make my mark, but I didn't know doing what,

so I guess I got my chance.

Cindy was the all-American girl.

I think she was one of the first to really start to plan for a future

that she would have more of a voice in.

You know when your dream comes true, and then you get to do it over and over.

Linda's a chameleon.

She could really become whatever

the photographer wanted her to become.

I dreamt of being a model, I wasn't discovered.

I chose.

We had to earn our stripes and take our stepping stones.

It was insane, like, we're not The Beatles.

In 50 years time, I'll think of it as a very good experience

and most of my friends, I'm sure, I will keep.

This is my class.

This is the group that I came of age with.

That's what a supermodel is.

- It looks so big. Hi. - Hi.

- Hello. -

- Hello. Hello. - Hello.

- How are you? - Hello. Well, good enough.

You used to have all the records in this back room here.

Yeah, yeah.

- Are they upstairs now? - I guess so.

Careful.

- So, now, Linda, you're here. - Next to her?

Yeah. You can do backsies. Right.

- Come closer. - Closer than this?

Okay, now...

I think you're ready to model again.

You haven't changed.

- Now, we... that's very good. - Okay, I have to lift you, Turly.

- Okay. - No... Yeah, do that.

- Did you lift me, or I lifted you? - I think I'm doing...

Yeah, I can't, though.

Okay, sorry. I don't wanna break her.

- I really don't. - Here we go.

- You can come closer, by the way. - I don't wanna break you this way either.

Could you come closer?

- Oh, to-- Closer to you? - Keep going. Keep going.

Now stop. Yeah, that's it.

Okay.

Good. Good.

Ready? I'm gonna lift you. Ready? One, two, three.

Oh, God!

- Do it again because I missed it. - You're gonna need a massage after this.

- One, two, three. - Okay.

I was really young when I started working.

The only thing I'd done before modelling was babysit and clean stalls.

As a teenager, I just remember that feeling of being in the suburbs

and going to school every day thinking, like,

there's gotta be something better out there than this.

My mother is from Central America, she's from El Salvador.

And she and my father met on a flight,

because my mother was a flight attendant for Pan Am

and my dad was a pilot, was from Northern California.

And so, um, we ended up settling in the Bay Area because of that, really.

My dad did not believe in spending money on things like clothing.

He heard us talking about, like, designer jeans

and then he would take a trip to Asia

and come back with, like, counterfeit Calvin Klein jeans

and think that we would be so excited to have the brand,

and we were, like, "These aren't real, Dad."

When I was about 14, I was at the stable after school.

And at the barn, there was a photographer.

He walked over to my mom, and he asked her

if, you know, we had ever thought about modeling.

And my mom said no.

Um, but I think she was intrigued.

My mom brought us to meet this agent, and she kind of looked at my sister and I,

sort of sizing us up, and then she said to my sister,

"You're too little," like, "you're not gonna work.

But you, you can probably work, and let's see what we can do with you."

And my sister was devastated.

So, when I was in school and starting to model,

I think I probably shared that with just really close friends.

I didn't really talk about it too openly.

You know, to be 15 years old modeling bridal dresses is kind of funny.

Sometimes I would say yes to a job,

and then of course I didn't even want to do that job if I had

a more promising or fun thing to do with my friends.

So, I remember there were a few times when my dad was driving me to something

and saying, you know, "Well, you made a commitment,

and this is what you have to do."

Modeling was not cool at all, except that I had money.

That gave me, uh, a lot of independence right out of the gate, just based on that.

My next guest began her own modeling agency 24 years ago,

and it's now the biggest one in the world.

Will you welcome, please, Eileen Ford?

Can a lady survive without being in your favor in modeling,

since you are the most powerful, certainly.

That's not a very feminine word, but let's face it, you are powerful.

We do a lot more of the work than anybody else,

and we get more of the cream of the work than anybody else.

I was probably 15 when I met the Fords.

When I came to New York...

...the Fords live in this big townhouse on East 78th Street and Lex.

And then it was dormitory style.

And my mom was planning on going home and letting me stay on my own.

I think everybody was there for a week or two.

There was, like a... a cycle, a constant cycle.

If you went on a casting or on a go-see, they call it,

you'd have, like, your list of appointments.

And then you can have somebody just with your portfolio,

open it and close it and then just, like, send you off on your way.

- -

On one of my castings, the sittings editor said to me,

"Hey, I want to send you down to Arthur Elgort's studio."

And that's sort of like when everything changed.

I just knew that this is gonna be a star.

Arthur's style is very much, you know,

where you're always in motion and always in action and not super stylized,

just very kind of free.

He photographed a lot of dancers and musicians.

He taught me a lot about, like, how to be comfortable in front of a camera

and, like, move and what to do with my hands.

I called the booker.

I said, "I have a job coming up for Vogue magazine, and I want Christy."

And it was funny at the time because the booker said,

"Oh, you think Christy's good? We have better."

I said, "You've done your part. I'll stick with Christy anyway."

Now, this is the first picture I took of Linda.

- This picture. - The first one?

Yes, yes. You remember it?

- I do remember. - Was it in Paris or here?

No. In Paris.

Now, this one, you remember that?

It was raining out. Here.

Did I do that many times or just once?

- No, no. Twice. - Twice I did it?

And you said, "I know what to do,"

so I just made sure I was in focus,

- and she did that. - You always were.

- No, not recently. - We always got a picture.

Oh, Cindy... That's a gorgeous one.

I feel like I remember that one, too.

- There's baby 'Omi. - For the Azzedine book.

Now, I haven't seen Naomi in years.

- No... - Does she look the same?

- Oh, uh, better. - Better?

She just gets better and better.

After that first photoshoot with Arthur, I went to London.

Went straight to the studio, and then Naomi came in.

She was, like, not in her school uniform, but she was basically also in school,

and, you know, just super excited to be there.

Just adorable.

When I first met Christy, she was so kind, and we had such a great shoot.

I didn't want it to end. It didn't feel like work.

We were playing Wham!, I remember.

We'd just be dancing and dancing and hanging out,

having such a good time.

After a few days and just the hours they had us there,

you know, you just get to be sort of delirious.

From that moment on, Naomi and I stayed close.

We done, we done, we done, we done, we done?

- Waiting for me? -

Okay, first outfit.