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Rebecca Romijn, a swimsuit model who has taken over as host of MTV's House of Style after several high-fashion models failed at the job, says the new, odder-looking models aren't going to become famous. "Women don't want to look like the women who are now in fashion magazines," she says. "That's because the fashionistas call the shots, and they're not in tune with what America wants. They want to be edgy and progressive." But the new models are probably what fashion models should look like--all freaky and gawky and striking, yet elegant in clothes.
Supermodels really usurped the glamour business in the late '80s, when Hollywood stars like Julia Roberts decided to get grunged out in sweats and baseball caps for public events. What else was PEOPLE magazine to do? Then, at the 1995 Oscars, Uma Thurman showed up in some Prada dress that everyone seemed to like a whole lot, and sex symbolism returned to Hollywood. Now designers fight to establish relationships with actresses like Cameron Diaz, Tea Leoni and Claire Danes. And models get to dress badly. Last week Schiffer showed up at a New York City movie premiere wearing jeans and little makeup and downing popcorn, M&Ms, a box of chocolate-covered ice cream chunks and a huge soda. And it was not a very long movie.
"Nine years ago, you couldn't get more glamorous than going backstage at a Versace show," says Alisa Bellettini, the executive producer of House of Style. "Now you see Amber Valetta at a Beastie Boys concert with no makeup on and her hair back. They're not like goddesses anymore. They're real people, working really hard." So hard, they've formed a union. Maria Di Angelis, a New York model on the board of directors of the Models Guild, local 51, doesn't even know how to be a supermodel. "While I was dating Jim Carrey, I had so many people wanting to interview me. And I thought it was kind of rude." Wake up, Maria.
Many of the rising young models are thinking of runways as a way to get recognized by movie producers, or just a way to pay for college. Meanwhile the old supermodels are fading partly because fashion is inherently short-lived. "It became very dull, just seeing six people at the center of most magazines," says Katie Ford, CEO of Ford Modeling Agency. Gilles Bensimon, creative director for Elle and the former husband of Elle Macpherson, says, "Claudia Schiffer is the best example of the rise and fall of a model. For me, we don't need her. She doesn't represent anyone alive. After some point, you become a Barbie doll. If you have one more interview with Claudia Schiffer, people say, 'Again?' It's like hearing more about Monica Lewinsky and the President."
Even the supermodels themselves seem bored. In Milan last month, Schiffer talked briefly about quitting modeling to concentrate on her acting career. Romijn is already distancing herself from her modeling background. "I don't like modeling that much," she says. "It's been a great trip, but straight print modeling is so mindless." How far has the stock of modeling fallen? Kate Moss once dated Johnny Depp, and Cindy Crawford was married to Richard Gere; Romijn's husband is John Stamos.