‘The Super Models’ Is a Well-Curated Snapshot of Naomi Campbell and Her Peers’ Careers, but Leaves Fans Wanting More: TV Review
20.09.2023 - 18:05
/ variety.com
Aramide Tinubu Though beauty is subjective, some images, portraits and spaces are so exquisite that they become timeless, forever solidified in the imagination of popular culture. The perfect image brings in consumers. Since advertising began, models have always held a place in society.
Yet, during the late ’80s and the ’90s, one group of models transcended fashion to become icons. In the new Apple TV+ docuseries “The Super Models,” co-directors Roger Ross Williams and Larissa Bills examine the careers of legends Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington. Four very different women from varied backgrounds began their journeys as teens, later leaping off the pages of magazines and onto global runways.
As they became more powerful and recognized outside the fashion industry — even as society started to press back against unrealistic beauty standards — they learned to speak up for themselves and each other during an era in which women were still tethered to silence. In Episode 1, titled “The Look,” the ladies discuss their entry into the modeling world. Campbell was a dancer, and was spotted on the streets of London.
Crawford’s break came through modeling in high school for a local Chicago photographer and landing a bra ad for Marshall Field’s department store. Turlington was discovered at age 14 during an after-school visit to a local barn. Evangelista, the self-proclaimed rebel of her family, was the only one to seek out modeling.
Eventually, the four would cross paths and reshape what it meant to be a model. Much of “The Super Models” works like a straightforward documentary. Evangelista, Crawford, Campbell and Turlington address the camera, recalling defining moments in their careers.
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