How a Music Video Launched the ‘90s Supermodel Era

Naomi Campbell. Cindy Crawford. Linda Evangelista. Christy Turlington. Tatjana Patitz. 

These long-legged icons of the 1990s paved their own path to "super" fashion royalty—and it all started with a music video. 

Fashion models were often treated as little more than walking mannequins—by both designers and the clothes-buying public—until the rise of the so-called “supers” changed everything.

For much of the 20th century, modeling was a relatively anonymous profession. Recognition beyond industry circles was uncommon, punctured only occasionally by breakout figures like Twiggy in the 1960s, who crossed into mainstream celebrity.

The 1980s and '90s brought changes to the industry. A model became “a personality, not just a nameless face,” says Elizabeth Wissinger, professor of sociology at the City University of New York and author of This Year’s Model: Fashion, Media, and the Making of Glamour.

Even before their star-making music video, the five women were strutting the runways for legendary fashion houses and starring in high-end ad campaigns for Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and others. What set them apart from earlier generations of models was their ability to project distinct personalities, establishing themselves as recognizable stars.

In 1989, Campbell made history as the first Black model to cover the September issue of American Vogue, considered the most important issue of the year. Evangelista bonded with photographer Steven Meisel, who regarded the Canadian model as his muse. In 1988, Turlington became the face of Calvin Klein’s Eternity fragrance. Patitz, known for her introspective demeanor and European style, became a favorite of several designers like Karl Lagerfeld. And Crawford established herself as one of the most recognizable faces in fashion and advertising on billboards and magazines.

Rising designers of the 1980s, like Donna Karan and Marc Jacobs, also brought a new feeling of accessibility to the fashion world. “There was this idea from the general public of ‘I, too, can access fashion,’” Wissinger says. 

But 1990 especially represented an important turning point in the supers’ fame, when the five women graced the cover of the January issue of British Vogue. The image featured the models posing together in a dramatic black-and-white photo that asked “The 1990s: What’s Next?” 

When musician George Michael saw the magazine cover, he was inspired to have the models star in his next video for the song "Freedom! '90." The British pop singer had a vision: He wanted David Fincher as the director and Michael himself wouldn’t appear in the video at all. Instead, the five supermodels would lip-sync his lyrics and act as the “faces” of the song. 

At first, the women weren’t in agreement as to how to proceed. Would appearing on MTV somehow dilute the high-fashion looks they’d worked so hard to cultivate? Eventually, Turlington admits in the documentary series "The Super Models” (2023) they arrived at a “group decision.” They’d do the video, together. Campbell met with Michael at a nightclub and presented their terms. 

Much of the video unfolded organically, according to fashion editor and stylist Camilla Nickerson. She supplied clothes from her own closet for the models to wear and said they "were having the time of their lives.” Evangelista and Turlington even admitted they were learning the lyrics up until the last minute. At one point, Turlington asked Fincher to get creative with camera angles to hide the occasional slip-up. 

When the video premiered on MTV in October 1990, viewers couldn’t get enough. The channel played the video constantly and music videos became “a really huge outlet creatively," says Nickerson. “Freedom! ’90” functioned as a cultural crossover moment, one that fused fashion and mass media.

"I think this video struck a chord for so many reasons. First and foremost, was the song itself and the message and declaration of 'freedom' for George himself. It also coincided with the 'birth' of the supermodel and brought music and fashion together in an exciting way," said Crawford.

After the viral succcess of the “Freedom! '90” video, Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace asked the models to recreate the moment on the runway for his 1991 autumn/winter show. The models closed the event lip-syncing the lyrics as the crowd applauded.

Crawford later told Vogue that the combined success of that show and the music video gave her that “big supermodel moment.” It represented how models embodied a new kind of celebrity as household names and cultural tastemakers.

Together, these five women redefined the fashion industry for an entire decade, setting new standards for visibility and influence that extended well beyond the early 1990s. They negotiated higher pay, exclusive contracts, chose projects strategically and proved that models could build lasting careers on their own terms.

“They had the look, but they also had each other, which is very important, too,” says Wissinger.

The heyday of the “supers” helped pave the way for celebrity models like Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, the Hadid sisters, Kendall Jenner and Kaia Gerber (Crawford's daughter).

Following Patitz’s death from breast cancer earlier in 2023, Evangelista, Campbell, Crawford and Turlington reunited at Vogue World 2023, triumphantly closing a show with a walk down the runway together, as they once had 30-plus years prior.