dispatches from quilt city

Somewhere Gisele is quietly weeping

That's it. It is now official. Supermodels are a thing of the past.

Today Sports Illustrated announced the cover model for its 2007 Swimsuit Issue. One of most coveted covers in modeling, it has been the crown jewel in many a supermodel crown. Christie Brinkley. Elle Macpherson. Heidi Klum. However, for the first time in 43 years, the cover will not feature a professional model. Instead...



That's right. The cover "model" is singer/actress/diva Beyonce

To me, this seems like the final nail in the coffin. If you pay attention to magazine covers (or listen Tyra Bank's rants on America's Next Top Model), you know that fashion magazines have increasingly featured celebrity models instead of professional ones.

For example, take a gander at your local newsstand. Here's the rundown:
Vogue - Jennifer Hudson
Elle - Gwen Stefani
Glamour - Liv Tyler
Marie Claire - Hillary Swank

The only with a model on the cover is Cosmo, but last month the cover model was Eve Mendes. Going back (resistantly) to Tyra, maybe a better reflection of the situation is the fact that the winners of America's Next Top Model have not gone on to become Top Models. The only one I've really seen at all is Adrianne Curry and that's because she turned herself into a bit of a "celebreality" star on Vh1.

Even today's Supermodels, like Heidi and Tyra, are trying desperately to turn themselves into something else - be it the next Oprah (dream on sister-friend) or the Simon Cowell of fashion.

To be honest, I don't know what to feel about this. I absolutely do not read fashion magazines anymore, so it's not as if I'm particularly invested in them. (Real Simple and O Magazine only - no cover model issue there!) But, I have to admit, as someone who reached tween-dom at the height of the supermodel craze, I am a bit sad. I mean remember this! I think there was something positive in knowing the model's name and being somewhat invested in them. I always saw Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington as successful, ambitious businesswomen, instead of just an anonymous body.

Either way it's up to Victoria Secret to carry the torch now. But the second I see angel wings on Jessica Alba...