We certainly know their names – and their faces – but how much do we really know about our favourite 90s supermodels? Muses to the formidable Karl Lagerfeld, frequent collaborators of Gianni Versace and inspiration to musicians like George Michael, Chris Isaak and Michael Jackson, there are reasons they were crowned the reigning supers for an uncontested stretch of time in fashion-land.
Not too much? We’re here to catch you up to speed. Below, find each 90s super attached to the star sign we believe they embody at their best. We’ve consulted the stars and after much agonising, we produced this list. Ready? Now strut.
Aries: Shalom Harlow
Shalom Harlow quit ballet when she started as a child. What was the reason, you ask? It sparked the flame of rebellion within her. She then made a move to tap-dancing, which suited her desire to create noise. Who but an Aries to resist convention, and to do it loudly? Our rams, allergic to conformity of any kind also love to make a scene. Harlow’s most notorious Alexander McQueen SS 99 presentation involved posing on a rotating platform as robots spray-painted her black and neon yellow. Scandaleuse.
Taurus: Linda Evangelista
Linda Evangelista famously does not get out of bed for under $10,000 dollars. If that isn’t a Taurean ethos, I don’t know what is. A longtime muse of Steven Meisel, the 90s super is loyal to those around her, and to her craft. Unlike her other compatriots who dove into designing or acting on the big screen, she remained firmly in the modelling stream. If you’re the ace of the game, why change? We’ll leave it to our Tauruses to hone their craft.
Gemini: Naomi Campbell
Geminis: whip smart, calculated, with an indefensible lifeblood of gossip and controversy. It’s their curiosity, skinning many cats. Banks is the same. With a legendary CV to boot, Banks is known for opening doors and vaulting through ceilings in an industry rife with racism and misogyny. Our twin-set signs cycle through change with adaptability. Be a Naomi. Who cares if you’re controversial? Change the world how you see fit.
Cancer: Cindy Crawford
Cindy Crawford was once duped into a fraudulent modelling opportunity, after a prank call orchestrated by her classmates. Not long after, however, she landed her very first cover and went on to front 500 more. Our prickly crabs never tend to forget but oft do they choose to rise above. And rise above Crawford has: she’s rounded off her historic modelling career through daughter, Kaia Gerber, nurturing one generation into the next. Oh so sweet.
Leo: Kimora Lee Simmons
Audacious, brimming with confidence, Kimora Lee Simmons has posed for CHANEL, Valentino and Fendi. At 1.83 meters, she towered above the rest in verve. She then became the successful mogul and heir to the Y2K, gloss-popping Baby Phat empire. All that ingenious is read from the tin: All hands on deck, Leos. Play and self-expression is as vital to your success as air is to the rest of us.
Virgo: Gisele Bundchen
Giselle Bundchen was rejected 42 times from modelling agencies in London before securing a spot in the Alexander McQueen 1998 show. She also is largely credited with terminating the ‘heroin-chic’ era of the 90s, ushering in a more sun-kissed pageantry to the runway. Do you know who else has iron-girded resolve like this? A Virgo does.
Libra: Carla Bruni
Libras, our metric of balance in life. And would it be so bold of me to venture the fact that Bruni’s own face is a study of ratio and sculpted precision? Facial symmetry aside, Bruni also held the title of France’s very own First Lady, when she was married to Nicholas Sarkozy. Despite having no political title, she accompanied her husband on official outings after years of dominating the editorial world. Call that yin and yang.
Scorpio: Kate Moss
Baby-sweet with an inescapable twinge of danger, our Kate possesses the enigma and sensuality of our Scorpio. There is no one to flout convention (and get away with it) like our dearest Plutonian-ruled bunch, and just like Kate, there’s years of veritable wit and wisdom – along with the occasional idiotic blip of tongue. (How good not eating feels? Terribly, I’d wager.)
Sagittarius: Tyra Banks
Sagittarius’s are ruled by their unmistakeable, foot-in-the-door voyaging. When Tyra Banks entered the scene, she left an indelible impact still felt today, as one of the first Black supermodels to open the floodgates for many others to follow. Like Sagittarius’s, Banks is an optimist – though her shear-happy ways have plighted many baby models from the barber’s chair.
Capricorn: Claudia Schiffer
Before becoming a muse, Claudia Schiffer aspired to legal heights, career-wise. No, literally – the 90s super wanted to be a practising lawyer to follow in her father’s footsteps. When she finally entered into modelling, she conquered it with a Capricorn mentality: do it all and do it well, or don’t do it at all. So, Schiffer fronted over 1000 magazines, earning herself a Guiness World Record while you’re at it. GOAT for a reason, you see.
Aquarius: Tatjana Patitz
The German muse Tatjana Patitz is one that was counted amongst the ‘Big Five’ of the ’90s heyday. Patitz knew her way around a cover, and conveyed a raw emotion on the catwalk that seldom existed at the time. Aloof, with a stare that borders on surliness, Patitz intuits expression like an Aquarius: entirely out of the box.
Pisces: Heidi Klum
Pisces, our slippery arbiters of fantasy and delusion. Empathy is their strong suit, but a lapse in reality is more common for them than a rest. Who else but our Heidi Klum, with her deluge of Halloween costumes, each as fantastical (and borderline concerning) than the last to take form in our watery friends? Klum’s legacy is best defined through her extensive modelling career, hosting Project Runway, and of course, Heidi Klum Day, taking place every October 31st. If it swims like a fish…
