A supermodel (also spelled super-model and super model is a highly paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in haute couture and commercial modeling. The term supermodel became prominent in the popular culture of the 1980s. The term supermodel had been used several times in the media in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1965, the encyclopedic guide American Jurisprudence Trials used the term "super model" ("...at issue was patient's belief that her husband was having an affair with a super model"). In May 1967, the Salisbury Daily Times referred to Twiggy as a supermodel; the February 1968 article of Glamour magazine listed all 19 "supermodels"; the Chicago Daily Defender wrote "New York Designer Turns Super Model" in January 1970; The Washington Post and Mansfield News Journal used the term in 1971; and in 1974 both the Chicago Tribune and The Advocate also used the term "supermodel" in their articles.
During the 1990s, this group of women were considered to be 'the most famous supermodels of them all' including Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, and Christy Turlington. They became known as The Trinity, a term first used by Journalist, Michael Gross. This term became sensationalized throughout the media however it has come to light that this was not favoured by the women. Due to their large scale success, these three were known throughout the industry on a first name basis, Christy, Naomi, Linda.
Critical perception of the supermodel as an industry has been frequent inside and outside the fashion press, from complaints that women desiring this status become unhealthily thin to charges of racism, where the "supermodel" generally has to conform to a Northern European standard of beauty. According to fashion writer Guy Trebay of The New York Times, in 2007, the "android" look is popular, a vacant stare and thin body serving, according to some fashion industry conventions, to set off the couture.
