Gia Carangi, she was referred to by some as the first supermodel, she also the first supermodel to fall from grace in a sad story...
I read her book Thing of Beauty when I was about 17, great biography. Strange how such a beautiful creature could be so tormented, twisted and tainted.
Rising to the limelight in the late 70's, her look redefined what the industry considered 'beautiful'. She partied with the Studio 54 crew, graced covers of Vogue and Cosmo, was considered as a golden child and favoured by the industry to the point of having her choice of the top photographers of the day... until she started shooting so much heroin that she fell asleep in front of the camera, became notorious for dummy spits and turning up late, if at all... then came rehab and a few attempts to reignite her career that weren't so successful. She contracted AIDS and dies from complications with the disease at age 26.
To me, the whole story showed the fickle and very tough side of the modelling world, a world that did not care about anything more than how many magazines the models face sold. How a woman, as gorgeous as Gia, would've had to be so together and strong to survive a brutal industry. And together Gia was not. But she was beautiful... beautifully tormented...
I read her book Thing of Beauty when I was about 17, great biography. Strange how such a beautiful creature could be so tormented, twisted and tainted.
Rising to the limelight in the late 70's, her look redefined what the industry considered 'beautiful'. She partied with the Studio 54 crew, graced covers of Vogue and Cosmo, was considered as a golden child and favoured by the industry to the point of having her choice of the top photographers of the day... until she started shooting so much heroin that she fell asleep in front of the camera, became notorious for dummy spits and turning up late, if at all... then came rehab and a few attempts to reignite her career that weren't so successful. She contracted AIDS and dies from complications with the disease at age 26.
To me, the whole story showed the fickle and very tough side of the modelling world, a world that did not care about anything more than how many magazines the models face sold. How a woman, as gorgeous as Gia, would've had to be so together and strong to survive a brutal industry. And together Gia was not. But she was beautiful... beautifully tormented...
This last shot is definitely my favourite, maybe its because you can almost see how fucked up she is, though it could just the leather jacket...!
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