Elle Macpherson

In Entertainment today, we listen to an interview with a woman who - in the
　　1980s and 90s - put the word 'supermodel' in the dictionary! She's Elle
　　Macpherson.
　　Elle began her brilliant modelling career at the age of 17 in Australia, where
　　she was born. Time magazine later called her 'the body' - a nick name Elle has
　　turned into a global brand. She's now a powerful business woman, and has an
　　extremely successful underwear company.
　　Elle talks to us about how one of her early business ventures, or enterprises,
　　used fashion as entertainment. But first she talks about the origins of the word
　　supermodel, or as she puts it, how the 'term' 'came about'. She explains that
　　after a period in the early 80s when women in the movie industry did not want
　　to be seen as 'sex symbols' – as sexually attractive and nothing else – there
　　was a hunger for glamour. Try to catch the word Elle uses to describe the
　　desire or hunger for glamour and beauty.
　　Elle Macpherson
　　'I think that the term supermodel was a very 80s kind of phrase, and it came about because
　　there was a movement where movie industry women in the early 80s they didn't want to be
　　perceived as sex symbols, and there was a huge craving for sort of glamour and sex in the 80s,
　　with all that influx of money and the fashion industry kind of supported it through great
　　designers like Versace. So we had this kind of craving for people to have beauty and glamour
　　in their lives and that's where models of that time kind of grew.'
　　Amber:  Did you catch it? Elle says there was a 'craving' for glamour and beauty in the
　　early 80s when there was an 'influx of money' – the 80s were a period of
　　affluence for many people.
　　Listen again to Elle Macpherson describing the circumstances which she thinks
　　led to the rise of the supermodel!
　　Elle Macpherson
　　'I think that the term supermodel was a very 80s kind of phrase, and it came about because
　　there was a movement where movie industry women in the early 80s they didn't want to be
　　perceived as sex symbols, and there was a huge craving for sort of glamour and sex in the 80s, with all that influx of money and the fashion industry kind of supported it through great
　　designers like Versace. So we had this kind of craving for people to have beauty and glamour
　　in their lives and that's where models of that time kind of grew.'
　　Amber:  Six foot Elle was an extremely successful model in the 80s – she was
　　frequently on the cover of magazines all over the world. People began to put
　　Elle's name and body together and this gave her a lot of power in terms of
　　creating a business 'brand' – a name for products she could sell.
　　Elle now talks about the Fashion Café which was not a particularly successful
　　venture, but she does not see it as a failure. Why not? Oh, and notice that Elle
　　uses the noun 'icon' as a verb – to iconize, meaning to celebrate. Elle Macpherson
　　'It was a fantastic stepping stone for me and it was actually before its time. The idea of using
　　the fashion industry as entertainment was way before its time. Now, today, we have fashion
　　TV, we have all those television programmes that kind of iconize the fashion industry, like the
　　film industry and like the music industry. When we did Fashion Café, it was taking from the
　　business model of the music industry and the film industry and we put it into fashion - it was
　　just before its time.'
　　Amber:  Elle describes the Fashion Café as a 'fantastic stepping stone'. A stepping
　　stone is an experience that helps you achieve something else. Elle says the
　　Fashion Café was 'before its time', 'way before its time' – meaning it was a
　　clever idea that has only recently become appreciated. Listen again.
　　Elle Macpherson
　　'It was a fantastic stepping stone for me and it was actually before its time. The idea of using
　　the fashion industry as entertainment was way before its time. Now, today, we have fashion
　　TV, we have all those television programmes that kind of iconize the fashion industry, like the
　　film industry and like the music industry. When we did Fashion Café, it was taking from the
　　business model of the music industry and the film industry and we put it into fashion - it was just before its time.'