supermodels: lets thank the dolls

Okay, so this whole rant stemmed from a good friend of my asking why there was a rise in Shalom Harlow content and why people claimed she has the best runway walk compared to other runway legends. Please remember, i have been trained for this topic since birth so if you try to give your opinion i will simply not see it unless you also care about and are knowledgeable on this topic. I do not take constructive criticism :D

original question: People keep saying Shalom Harlow has the best catwalk ever and I don’t fucking see it, I feel like I’m being lied to but I feel like you can probably shed some light on it and I’ll look at it differently.

answer:

Oh, Shalom definitely has an iconic walk but it’s camp and stylized. Also let’s keep it real only reason she’s going viral or people are saying that is to bandwagon. She went viral because she cleared up a big runway mystery which was if she was beefing with this one girl (Shalom famously stepped in front of another model at a Todd Oldman show i beliveC then shes seen making a comment to the girl and the spin to face the runway together, pure cunt move, loves it!) and she was like no that’s silly, but that’s the only reason the girlies are praising her currently.

I’ve tried to research and find pics of her work but it’s extremely hard unless u know her work or have access to archives. She’s just in the spot light now because vogue is finally being like "remember her? Yeah, she ate." Which in all honesty is upsetting, Shalom Harlow was never made a household name such as her colleagues whether that stems from her taking a step back from the spotlight or spotlight stepping away from her is unclear. But even though i do respect Harlow she isn’t on par with Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss or Linda Evangelista. She was already a tall skinny white woman, meanwhile Linda Evangelista had a unique and versatile beauty. Kate Moss is the only person in history to fit the worlds beauty standards while being short model (one exception to the standard). Meanwhile Naomi Campbell was a mixed dark skin black woman who had fashion by the balls and still does while being confident and being one of the few black talents who could stop the media from villainizing her even though they tried. She also made a lot of people take being a model serious and showed that it’s basically a sport.

It might sound like I am hyper critical of Shalom Harlow or even a hater but honestly I hate the disingenuous ogling of her. Shalom should i have real supporters who recognize that she is meant to be an icon within the fashion industry for models and fashion people. She should be uplifted in her work for more than a fucking vogue video.

She’ll b in the hearts of fashion people 4ever but the general public won’t ever truly know her impact and that’s okay sometimes that’s how people should be.

I think keeping the legacy of 90s supermodels alive is extremely important because a large number of them modeled for Versace and Gainni Versace has the iconic quote “I want my models to look like they enjoy life,” says Gianni. “Like they eat, at least! Like they laugh; like they dance; like they make love." And a lot of those models weren’t the beauty standard but molded it and created it, they also actually helped with women’s sexual liberation in the 90s in the sense of women dressing provocative was to attract WOMENS' attention not mens'. Also a lot of them girls weren’t ashamed of partying or doing drugs or smoking even though that was unladylike. Also women were treated as pieces of art to celebrate by these gay designers. Gay designers made monuments to womens' bodies and expression. The surrounded themselves with the worlds most beautiful women keeping them as confidants and muses.

Also the competitive nature shed a light on how toxic this line of work and industry can be and had become. Women having to tear each other down or do extreme drug diets in order to keep getting booked, we remember them for the confidence they gave us but also the hardships they went through.

90s fashion is seen as something to replicate or just a slay aesthetic pic when we have to remember what they were doing was strange and looked down upon. It’s gay culture while also being a standard afab people born in the 90s-2000s were raised with. Within their careers these women went from art to commodities when the industry changed and focused less on art. These women were called sluts and bad influences on our daughters when they decided to party as the male rockstars had. They were called addicts and shamed publicly for doing coke to keep their jobs. Black models forced to shrink themselves to appease white bosses, made to wear pale makeup and ill fitting wigs while also being appointed a representatives for the whole of their community. Gay designers were shunned from normal society for their visions but were embraced by these women.

When we speak of Shalom Harlow don't reduce her to a "mood" or a moment cleared up when she is apart of history.