Gisele Bündchen: An End of an Era (Supplemental Post #4)

After walking the catwalk for her farewell show for Colcci last week, Gisele Bundchen ended the era of supermodels. The generation of supermodels, of which she took part alongside Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell, has reached its end. Ever since Gisele’s debut, many beautiful girls have emerged, but none of them are a match for debunking the model that charmed the fashion world twenty years ago. Today there is no successor able to achieve the uber status occupied by this Brazilian.

But what is it that Cindy, Naomi and Gisele had that made them so special? Star quality, that extra detail that overrides beauty and makes the difference. Something that is getting harder and harder to find nowadays.

Gisele first appeared in 1994 and changed the fashion scene with her curves, her air of health, natural sensuality; always cheerful and carefree. She can be seen as a sun on the catwalk after a few seasons of lunar, pale, grim-faced and ill-looking models that characterized the fashion show and photos in the 90s, the “heroin chic” times. Gisele invented a way of walking a catwalk that became her trademark and that is copied by young models all over the world.

Gisele in 1994

Gisele is especially important because she was one of the first models to transition from the fashion world to all other entertainment platforms, becoming a star in every possible way. What is even more shocking about that was that she managed to do that being Brazilian – aka foreign. Giselle not only crossed ethnic stereotypes but also asserted her place in the industry by challenging femininity and body type and beauty ideals of the time. In the beginning of her career, she was even rejected by some people in the fashion industry for not having the ideal beauty of the time. Her peculiar aesthetics and “big nose” were obstacles that she overcame with her strong personality.

Furthermore, Gisele achieved star status by building her image’s branding as a powerful and strategic weapon. Celebrity branding plays a vital role in the success of a star’s career nowadays. Gisele knew how to play the cards in order to achieve the stardom that she now has. Even though many people claim that Gisele wouldn’t have become this iconic if she hadn’t dated Leonardo diCaprio, her stardom goes beyond good connections. Gisele became an icon for fashion and helped many people understand that this career choice can be much more than just superficiality.

Even though she is not stereotyped as the Latina woman like J Lo was during the beginning of her career, her success is still dependent on her body. Perhaps if she had roles in films, she would be stereotyped Latina and become famous because of her physical assets like J Lo. Nevertheless, Gisele represents a good representation of a Latina that managed to reach the top and become the most well paid model in the world.