Headlines:
• "Sustainable Fashion Gains Traction: New Studies Show Demand for Eco-Friendly Clothing is on the Rise" (Source: CNN, April 2022) • "Virtual Fashion Shows Take Center Stage: Brands like Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana Go Digital to Combat Lockdowns" (Source: Vogue, March 2021) • "Racial Diversity in Fashion Industry Still Lacking: Report Reveals Widespread Inequality and Underrepresentation" (Source: The New York Times, August 2020) • "Fast Fashion's Impact on Climate Change: Swedish Retailer H&M Unveils Ambitious Sustainability Plan to Reduce Wastage" (Source: BBC News, July 2020) • "Influencer marketing reigns supreme: Brands Spend Big on Social Media Ambassadors to Reap Engagement Rewards" (Source: Forbes, October 2022) • "Fashion's Relentless Pursuit of Novelty: How Brands are Creating Disposable Products to Fuel Consumption" (Source: The Guardian... June 2021) • "Rise of the "In-Crowd": Exclusive Fashion Communities and "Inner Circles" Gain Popularity in the Age of Social Media" (Source: Harper's Bazaar, February 2020) • "New Generation of Fashion Educators: Entrepreneurial Spirit, Sustainability, and Diversification Loom Large in Today's Fashion School Landscape" (Source: The Business of Fashion, September 2019) These news headlines highlight various aspects of the fashion industry's evolution, including the rise of sustainable fashion, "the importance of diversity and representation," "the impact of social media on consumer behavior.".. and the growth of new business models and innovations.Three decades ago she invented the modern playbook by which the current generation of professionally beautiful people flourish.
When Cindy Crawford walked into a lounge in the Santa Monica Proper Hotel on a morning in early June, her vibe was immediate: comfortable, professional, direct. No artifice. No entourage. Just her longtime publicist Annett Wolf, who made a brief introduction and disappeared, leaving Ms. Crawford at the head of a table set with a display of the products from her Meaningful Beauty line of skin and hair care, a $400 million brand she introduced 20 years ago.
It's tempting to describe Ms. Crawford, 58, as casual, but that's not quite it. Dressed in a Celine corduroy jean jacket, a camisole, Nili Lotan bootleg jeans and a Foundrae charm necklace symbolizing resilience, her beauty is radiant without being the least bit overwhelming. A resident of Malibu, where she lives with her husband of 27 years, the nightlife and tequila maestro Rande Gerber, she exuded California unfussiness. She is a familiar face, literally, having been photographed and filmed thousands of times over the course of her 35-plus-year career as one of the world's most successful models.
What felt most organic was to start with the business of Cindy. More than the mole above her lip, more than her brown eyes and va-va-voom hair and her healthy physique, Ms. Crawford's interest in transcending modeling to become a brand — decades before personal branding was a career path — is what has distinguished her from her peers.
“I always say, ‘I modeled,'” Ms. Crawford said. “It's not, ‘I am a model.' It's a verb to me. It's not an identity.”
“There wasn't someone that I was, like, ‘I want her career,'” Ms. Crawford said. “A lot of it was just, like, ‘Why not?' or ‘Let's try this.'”
“Cindy, Inc. Not just your basic $7-million-a-year supermodel.” That was the cover line of a 1994 Vanity Fair profile that tried to put a finger on Ms. Crawford's newfangled golden touch as a model who could command markets, demographics and products that ranged from Vogue to Playboy to MTV to Kay Jewelers. At the time, Ms. Crawford was 28, married to Richard Gere (they filed for divorce the following year) and a perfect specimen of youth and exceptional beauty.
