By NASA MARIA ENTABAN
THE fashion world’s “It” girls have taken on many forms in the past; there are skinny girls, voluptuous girls, blonde girls, girls with high cheek bones and so on.
These days, the fashion industry is more diverse than ever, but somehow, there will always be that one model, actress or singer that stands out in every crowd.
Funny how the term “It girl” actually originated as one that describes personality, instead of what it is more commonly used for today – appearance. One of the first references came about in 1904 in a story by author Rudyard Kipling, who wrote: “It isn’t beauty, so to speak, nor good talk necessarily. It’s just ‘It’.”
Today’s It girls have it tough, though. Not only do you have to burst onto the scene and grab everyone’s attention, you also have to keep your audience interested; only a handful few have managed to achieve that.
Sure, designers are rushing to dress current It girls like Hailee Steinfeld, Lourdes Leon and Elle Fanning, but we’ll just have to wait and see if they can hold a candle to the following It girls:
Marilyn Monroe
Although the 1950s actress only enjoyed several years in the limelight, the impact she made in the entertainment industry as well as the fashion world will live on for years to come.
Her hour glass figure, suggestive child-like vocals, and flirtatious demeanour were all part of the package that had every man wanting her, and every woman wanting to be her.
Marilyn Monroe in 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes '
Everything looked better on Monroe – from bathing suits to gowns and even sunglasses, the blonde actress was one of the biggest fashion phenomenons to achieve global fame.
Twiggy
There’s no denying there’s a certain appeal to 1960s teen model Twiggy’s large eyes, waif frame and androgynous looks.
For a model, she isn’t really that tall – at 167cm, she wouldn’t even qualify for supermodel status in the new millennium.
Twiggy
The short hair and doe-eyed look took the fashion world by storm back then, appearing in almost all leading fashion magazines. Later, she went on to expand her career in the stage, film and television scenes.
Twiggy also has several books to her name and was a judge on popular TV series America’s Next Top Model.
Iman
To the fashion world in the 1970s, Somali supermodel Iman Mohamed Abdulmajid was something new, fresh and different. Her long neck, arms and legs as well as her sharp features and dark skin cast a hypnotic spell on design houses like Halston, Versace, Calvin Klein, Issey Miyake, and Yves Saint-Laurent, who couldn’t get enough of the exotic beauty.
Iman
Today, she runs the successful Iman Cosmetics firm, which focuses on developing makeup for ethnic women, and has her own fashion line called Global Chic.
Chloe Sevigny
Chloe Sevigny’s popularity as one of today’s fashion It girls has yet to diminish. Actress, model and fashion designer Sevigny grabbed the public’s attention in the mid-1990s and early 2000s for her eclectic fashion sense and modelling work in New York’s fashion scene.
Chloe Sevigny
She also has a successful acting career, having starred in several critically-acclaimed arthouse films and blockbuster hits. With several fashion lines to her name and top-notch designers singing her praises, we’re pretty sure Sevigny will be around for a long while more.
* Who do you think will be the next It girl? Comment below!
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