SUPERMODELS
One more try.
Vogue, June 1972, table of contents (I don't see a page number), has
"Naomi Sims, Supermodel--in real life." The article itself on page 122 says
"'BEAUTY SURPASSES PREJUDICE'/NAOMI SIMS/SUPER MODEL." No space in one, a
space in the other.
A check of Vogue in 1978 (the SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE year) found in
September 1978, page 463, "Supermodel 'Ultima' woman, actress Lauren Hutton."
I didn't see any "supermodels" in Vogue earlier than this June 1972
citation; certainly, it was not there in the May 1972 portrait of Veruschka
(Newsweek called her a supermodel a few years later). In March 1, 1972, pg.
118, "Cybill (Shepherd) at twenty-one is a top model." On page 123, "Fashion
designer Halston said of her (Donna Jordan), 'She's an original, a superstar!
Extravagant-looking, flamboyant, superchic, mad...'"
Two things--which you wouldn't find on a NEXIS search strictly for
"supermodel"--may be important.
Vogue, December 1971, pp. 102-103, is about the Andrew Lloyd-Webber &
Tim Rice rock-opera JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, "Why is Super-star a super-hit?"
Also, in the October 15, 1971 issue, Vogue introduced Dr. Robert
Atkins's "SUPER DIET." Page 148 lists THE SUPER RULES, THE SUPER VEGETABLES,
THE SUPER SALAD MATERIAL, THE SUPER PLOT, and SUPER NO-NO'S. Pages
104-105
introduce the thing:
It's a Social Smash with the
Lunch Group...it's
the Thin Thing Inside an
Obsessive Cook...
it's a New Achievement Plan
for a Lean Loner...
it's SUPER DIET
It would appear, therefore, that both "superman" and "superstar" gave
us "supermodel."
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