Supermodels recreate iconic Vogue cover from 1990

Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Tatjana Patitz, Linda Evangelista and Cindy Crawford starred together on January 1990 issue of Vogue

An iconic Vogue cover, featuring Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Tatjana Patitz, Linda Evangelista and Cindy Crawford in 1990, which capture the age of the Nineties supermodel, has been recreated more than 30 years later.

The story, which will appear on the UK and US editions with the cover line: “The Greatest of All Time”, will be missing German model Tatjana Patitz, who died earlier this year.

The original photograph appeared on the cover of the January 1990 edition of Vogue and has been reimagined for the 2023 September cover.

The four models will appear in the forthcoming four-part Apple TV+ docuseries, The Super Models, as they reflect on the beginnings of their modelling careers in the late Eighties and early Nineties. The show will be premiering on 20 September.

The four women, now in their fifties, are often considered to be among the first supermodels to become celebrities and known as household names outside of the fashion industry.

Speaking to Vogue, Campbell said of her early days of modelling: “There was a sisterhood there, defined by caring and loyalty: when one is down you pick the other one up.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Campbell recalled how her life began to change when she became famous, like when photographers captured her outside a Narcotics Anonymous meeting in 2001. “I was made to feel ashamed of my recovery,” she said. “It wasn’t that I was in hiding, but this is something you talk about when you are ready.”

Vogue cover from January 1990 (Vogue)

Meanwhile, Evangelista opened up about her own experience with Botox, after trying the CoolSculpting procedure that left her face “disfigured”.

“I don’t mind and I never did mind ageing. Ageing gets us to where we want to be, and that’s for me a long life,” she said. “[Makeup artist] Kevyn Aucoin was so afraid of wrinkles and he never got them. I want wrinkles – but I Botox my forehead so I am a hypocrite – but I want to grow old.”

Much of the feature focuses on what the four models have overcome and survived in their careers, such as “grunge” and the pre-#MeToo era. All four models said they largely avoided sexual exploitation despite working with photographers who have been accused of sexually inappropriate behaviour with models.

Crawford explained she would avoid lots of parties, Turlington said it was down to “luck and grace”, while Campbell said she was taught to “speak up” by her family.

“You’d get invited to a party on someone’s yacht and I’d think, ‘What do you even wear on a yacht? What fork do you use?’” said Crawford. “So I would just not go and, yes, I probably missed out on some fabulous opportunities but probably avoided some less than fabulous opportunities as well.”

See the full feature in the September issue of British Vogue, available via digital download and on newsstands from Tuesday 22 August (Rafael Pavarotti/Vogue)

Edward Enninful, outgoing editor-in-chief of British Vogue – he will step down from the role in March to become Vogue’s global creative and cultural adviser – styled all four models for the cover shoot.

Writing about the decision to put the four models on the September issue cover in his Editor’s Letter, Enninful wrote:  “For such a hallowed moment, my esteemed co-conspirator Anna Wintour – editor-in-chief of American Vogue and Condé Nast’s chief content officer – and I decided there was only one thing for it.”

“We had to put the legendary quartet simultaneously on the cover of both British and American Vogues.”

You can read the full Vogue cover story here.

The Super Models will be available to watch on Apple TV+ from 20 September.