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QuoteKendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid Don?t Have That Supermodel ?Magic? According to Robert Verdi

?In another day, these girls are not real models.?


If there is a single, surefire way to rile up fashion-industry veterans, it?s to use the word ?supermodel? in the same sentence as names like Kendall Jenner or Gigi Hadid. Stephanie Seymour, one of the original models with the coveted ?super? title, humorously quipped that the two newcomers should be referred to as ?bitches of the moment? rather than supermodels. The debate continues to rage on, with Rebecca Romijn voicing her distaste for the status of the new ?It girls,? while Tyra Banks spoke to VF.com in their defense.

If you ask stylist and fashion commentator Robert Verdi his opinion, he?ll quickly tell you that ?rich kids are in style.? VF.com spoke to Verdi at Michael Costello?s show during Fashion Week about the rise of this new era of models, super and otherwise.

?There is a part of me that sort of wants to defend the traditional path that models come to be through a discovery process. They?re working at the Dairy Queen in Oklahoma and somebody?s like, ?You should be a model.? I miss that," he said. ?There?s definitely a truth to the fact that these girls are models of the moment and they have the zeitgeist of what our culture?s about. They have the Instagram following. In another day, these girls are not real models. Yes, they are photographed and airbrushed and they look O.K. in some of the shoots. But these are not Linda Evangelistas; these are not Naomi Campbells. These girls are not magic.?

While he may not understand the appeal of the Gigis and Kendalls, he does acknowledge their character and work ethic. Both women have experienced a meteoric rise to success, snagging ad campaigns, couture shows, and magazine covers within a couple of short years, but it hasn?t been without a bit of hard work.

?You heard more stories about tantrums with Naomi, phone throwing, all that. We haven?t heard that about these girls," he admitted. "These girls, from what I?ve heard from industry insiders and people who work with them, they are on time, they perform, they work hard. They are not dialing it in. They?re delivering on set. That?s a redeeming quality, because they could be lazy bastards who don?t have to work. But I do feel bad for the girls who are still working at Dairy Queen and have lost their opportunity.?

But maybe not all are losing out. With designers like Kanye West reaching out to the public for their casting calls, that girl from Oklahoma is given a slightly better chance at getting her start in the fashion industry. As we recently learned, though, an open call is never a guarantee, and neither is decent treatment/adequate hydration if you make it to showtime.

?The one thing I did like about Kanye?s show is that the girls are new. They?re unexpected,? he said. ?The thing that I don?t like about it is none of them stand out. It?s just an army of girls. In my day, because I?m so goddamn old, somebody became the star of Fashion Week. And I think that those girls who kind of stand out get lost in shows like Kanye?s.?