The term “supermodel” has come a long way since its origin. In the ’90s, six main supermodels ran the fashion world. Today, the term “model” takes on a totally different meaning with the rise of social media, where stars like Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid rule. It turns out, not everybody likes that.
During an interview with Vanity Fair last week, former model Stephanie Seymour says, “They are completely different than we were. Supermodels are sort of the thing of the past.” She added that the likes of Kendall and Gigi deserve their own title, and when asked what that should be, she responded, “Bitches of the moment!” Um. Okay.
Seymour went on to describe her modeling days, saying, “I gave up my childhood and worked very, very hard from the time I was 14.” All that being said, Seymour does admit she’s glad she wasn’t working during the social media age. “I’m so glad social media didn’t exist during our time. And because there weren’t cameras around us all the time, we got away with so much more and had so much more fun,” she says. “We didn’t have people watching us all the time, and we weren’t putting ourselves out there in a way that was turning the media against us or for us in any way. We still had our privacy … I can’t imagine what it’s like for the girls today.”
This isn’t the first time former models have criticized Kendall & Gigi’s fame. Earlier this year, Rebecca Romijn seemed to reference the two girls directly when she said the “social media stars” aren’t “true supermodels.”
“It is frustrating. I know a lot of people—legitimate fashion people—can’t stand it,” she was quoted as saying.
For the record though, she did take to Twitter to say she wasn’t trying to throw shade.
hey @kendalljenner @gigihadid don’t believe the #clickbait. Never talked smack about you. Both amazing & beautiful pic.twitter.com/4WFSVLgRNC
— Rebecca Romijn (@RebeccaRomijn) April 27, 2016
Of course, there’s no denying the entire fashion industry has changed with the rise of social media—but can we just let these girls live?