Long Tall Sally, global leader in fashion for tall women, has today, launched an interactive visual gallery revealing the most iconic female models to walk the runways and grace international magazine covers.
‘Models of the Moment’ features 27 women from the 1940s to the present day and includes the likes of American pinup turned movie star, Rita Hayworth, British-born 60s icon, Twiggy, and Instagram ‘it-girl’ Kendall Jenner. Each model’s essence has been individually captured and illustrated for the gallery by up-and-coming fashion illustrator, Shira Barzilay.
The first official Fashion Week was held in New York in 1943. ‘Models of the Moment’ looks back over the last 72 years and pinpoints which models were the faces of those decades and what was unique about their beauty.
As well as identifying what made them the model of the moment, the gallery also details the height, shoe size and bust to waist and hip ratio of each model, highlighting how model shapes have changed since 1943.
Amongst the tallest women is German born model, Veruschka, standing tall at 6ft 3 inches and rising to fame in the 60s. One of the earliest modelling icons, and the shortest in the gallery, is Dorian Leigh the icon of the 40s and just 5ft 5 inches.
In terms of body shapes, in the 50s it was all about New York model Dovima and her miniscule 19 inch waist. Today models are more likely to have a 23 inch – 25 inch waist and stand between 5ft 7 inches and 5ft 11 inches. However, breaking this mould and carving the way for the curvaceous era in 2000 was British model Sophie Dahl, who in her heyday walked the catwalk as a UK size 14, with an extra 5 inches on her hips when compared to Twiggy of the 60s.
Models of the current decade include Instagram phenomenon Kendall Jenner (2015) with 25.5 million Instagram followers and timeless beauty Jourdan Dunn (2014), who strutted her pregnant bump down the runway at Paris Fashion Week in 2010. ‘Queen of Quirkiness’ Cara Delevingne was the icon of 2013, when she became both the most Googled person in fashion in the UK [1] and the most reblogged model on Tumblr [2].
Lara Curry, Creative Director of Long Tall Sally commented: “True beauty comes in many shapes and forms. With Fashion Week approaching, we take a look back at 27 models who defined their era. Women whose beauty goes beyond skin deep. Models of the Moment celebrates their diversity, their strength and their uniqueness.”
‘Models of the Moment’ can be viewed on the Long Tall Sally website from the 9th September. Visit longtallsally.com/i/models-of-the-moment to view.
