Models Return to Magazines, Some Naked, Some Not

Photo: Glamour magazine, cover shot by Patrick Demarchelier

Natalia Vodianova is Glamour magazine’s April cover girl. A model on a magazine is no big deal, right? Wrong. For more than a decade, celebrities have dominated the newsstands. If you’re name wasn’t Gisele or Kate Moss, you’d be tucked within the middle of the book. But three months into 2015, girls like Cara Delevingne, Jourdan Dunn, Gigi Hadid, and more have reclaimed the coveted spot.

"I could not be more proud of what I see on the newsstand right now….Models on COVERS! What a wonderful and refreshing sight! So proud of my friends on these major accomplishments!" Kloss caption an Instagram photo of Kendall Jenner on Allure, Candice Swanepoel on Maxim, Binx Walton on Teen Vogue and others.  

Photo: @karliekloss/Instagram

While models lost their cachet circa the turn of the century, when ’90s supers like Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, and the rest of their pack began to age out of the business, actors and actresses seamlessly took their places in editorials. And while some publications balked at the idea of an A-lister gracing their pages, sales increased with the shift.

Before you call this shift a resurgence or return though, models themselves have recently changed, turning themselves into the new kind of celebrity, one with a large following, hundreds of thousands of devotees who will run to the newsstand to drop $6 on an issue covered with their fashion or beauty icon. In 2015, top models enjoy the same prestige status as some movie and TV stars. And not just because they’ve built up the same kind of influence via social media—they’re also willing to take their clothes off.

Suki Waterhouse, Cara Delevingne, and Georgia May Jagger cover Vogue UK. Photo: Vogue, shot by Mario Testino

Take the April cover of Vogue UK, on which Suki Waterhouse, Cara Delevingne, and Georgia May Jagger drop trou for Mario Testino, wearing sheer panties and furry heels. The trio epitomizes the 21st century celebrity model: Suki Waterhouse has a hunky, Oscar-nominated American boyfriend; Cara Delevingne walks on runways and appears in ad campaigns, but her kooky personality and I-don’t-give-two-shits attitude also attracts fans by the millions (10 million on Instagram to be exact); and Georgia May Jagger is the daughter of Mick.

Social media plays the biggest role in the newfound celebrity of the most successful female models, the "Insta-girls" as Vogue dubbed them in September. Jenner has double Delevingne’s followers with 20.9 on Instagram, Candice Swanepoel has 5.1 (and a Victoria’s Secret contract to support her); and Kloss has 2.1. Each model with a cover also has a story to tell. Kloss is best friends with Taylor Swift, Kendall Jenner is part of the Kardashian dynasty, and Vodianova grew up in a poverty-stricken household in Russia with her mother and her little sister Oksana, who has cerebral palsy and autism (Vodianova devotes most of her time to the Naked Heart Foundation, a charity she founded for those with disabilities).

Regardless of why models are returning, it’s a welcome mix up to a staid magazine environment. Basically the next best thing since Kim Kardashian went full frontal.

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