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But a photographer can take a model only so far. She must still impress the fashion-magazine editors, who make and break careers. Though the magazines offer next to no money -- models get less than $300 for a Vogue cover -- they provide cachet and prestige. Among the dozens of fashion publications, Vogue (U.S. circ. more than 1.2 million) is the most powerful. The magazine maintains its hold on the market, says Grace Coddington, fashion director of the U.S. edition (there are nine Vogues around the world), in part because its top photographers do not work for competitors of Conde Nast, Vogue's parent company.
Everyone in the modeling world may call everyone else "darling," but it is a bitterly competitive business. Take the battle between the Elite Model Management agency and the long-reigning giant, Ford Models Inc. Back in 1977, John Casablancas, Elite's owner, opened an office in New York, having previously confined himself to Paris, and lured a number of top models away from rival agencies. Six months ago, the Fords -- Eileen runs the business with her husband Jerry -- opened an office in Paris, headed by their daughter Katie. The Fords scored a major coup in July when they announced that Naomi Campbell would be represented by Ford for all her Paris work; Elite will continue to handle her New York assignments.
When Elite learned that Ford France had booked Campbell for a coveted SPORTS ILLUSTRATED assignment, though, the battle raged anew. Casablancas and New York president Monique Pillard contend that Elite was entitled to handle the job since the agency represents Campbell in New York. At one point they even fired their star model, but soon reconciled. "I'm going to get to the bottom of this," fumes Pillard. "I spent three years trying to shove Naomi down S.I.'s throat." The Fords insist that since the photo shoot was in Europe, Ford France was entitled to handle the assignment.
THE MODELS
Some things don't change. Any fresh-faced 16-year-old who hopes to blossom into a supermodel must meet certain minimum requirements. Elite's Pillard reels them off: she must be at least 5 ft. 9 in., bone thin, have full lips, high cheekbones, large eyes, long legs and a straight, not too prominent nose. Models today are taller and fitter than those of previous generations, with fuller lips and bigger breasts. "The models are still skinny," comments Susan Moncur, 41, a semiretired Paris model, "but with big tits -- real or false."
Everyone tells the models they're gorgeous, but as long as they work they must guard against imperfection -- the bloodshot eye, the puffy face. They diet rigorously, and smoke to keep the weight off. Even on good days, models fret that they are not perfect enough. "A girl comes to a shoot with a pimple, and everyone's mumbling about her," says Kevyn Aucoin, a New York makeup artist. "She feels like she should commit suicide."
Curiously, great beauties do not always make great models. Connection to the camera is key. When photographer Arthur Elgort meets a young model for the first time, he wonders if she will "transfer" onto a photograph. "She's cute in her little jeans," he explains, "but when we pile the Givenchy and Ungaro on this 20-year-old, the girl could disappear before our eyes."