The 20 Top Supermodels That Dominated Fashion in the '80s
From Iman and Anna Bayle to Jerry Hall and Brooke Shields, these are the names that defined the era of excess.
Bold shoulders, big hair, and a whole lot of bling characterized fashion in the ’80s. We're talking Dynasty days, darling. It was a time when flaunting excess was de rigueur, when designers like Christian Lacroix, Claude Montana, Carolyne Roehm, Yves Saint Laurent, Oscar de la Renta, and Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld piled on the pomp and pageantry. And there to strut down their runways and grace their campaigns were the top models. They served as muses, walking embodiments of the glamour they sought to present.
From Iman and Anna Bayle to Jerry Hall and Brooke Shields, these veritable icons paved the way for the It girls of the ’90s, the perceived heyday of the modeling industry when Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell reigned supreme. Indeed, these names and more prove that supermodels existed well before the era of elegance. They commanded sizable checks, were stalwarts on billboards and commercials, and attracted headlines for their jet-setting lifestyles. Below, check out the top 20 who epitomized the more-is-more mindset of the ’80s.
Barry Samaha is the former style commerce editor at Esquire, where he covered all things fashion and grooming. Previously, he was an editor at Harper’s Bazaar, Surface, and WWD, along with overseeing editorial content at Tod’s Group. He has also written for The Daily Beast, Coveteur, Departures, Paper, Bustle Group, Forbes, and many more. He is based in New York City and can't seem to find enough closet space for all his shoes.
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