“Sexy isn’t dead, it’s evolved,” Models.com editor-in-chief, Stephan Moskovic believes. “In a world where what sexy encompasses is virtually limitless, more determined by individual viewpoints than markets, the culture the list was first created to track felt out of touch.” As the creative community continues to elevate individualism, we have decided to better reflect the cultural shift in the markets by removing the Top Sexiest Models rankings from our official boards and instead track those clients in our Money List rankings. Models.com spoke to model agents and even turned the mic on ourselves to discuss the removal, the current cultural shift within the modeling industry, and what lies ahead for the industry.
What is sexy? Victoria’s Secret used to ask the phrase of consumers, randomly compiling a list breaking down the features of models and celebrities, that ranged from slightly understandable descriptors like “Sexiest Eyes” to the more ridiculous, “Sexiest Music Tour.” The resulting backlash to the list’s last rendition in 2017 was a clue to what was to come for the weighted word’s re-examination. In what has been the cathartic era of #MeToo, one thing is for certain – the most transformative power shift in culture has taken influence from former tastemakers while changing beauty standards for years to come. While washboard abs and unrealistic hip-to-waist ratios still permeate the model industry, a collection of leading commercial clients have expanded the idea of sexy to be more inclusive of skin tone, body type, gender, and disability. Whether it was the diverse casting for industry disruptor Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty lingerie show from Year One, Skims dressing Team USA Olympians and Paralympians this past summer, or Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue cover shoot with Leyna Bloom, commercial clients are considering casts with their own personal brands and giving audiences the opportunity to align their causes with their pockets. Models.com originally created the Top Sexiest rankings list to recognize models who were primarily getting campaign deals with clients in lingerie or swimwear like Victoria’s Secret, Agent Provocateur, or featured in the Pirelli Calendar or the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. For male models, scantily clad designer clothing and fragrance ads from Abercrombie and Calvin Klein joined underwear and swimwear clients. Nowadays, you rarely see an ab on Abercrombie’s website, cleaned up to be more commercially inviting, and to win back consumers.
It is no coincidence that many of those aforementioned clients have also rebranded — after Annie Leibovitz shot in 2016, Pirelli’s annual calendar that once showcased the svelte, nude figures of fashion and Hollywood muses, has since weaned itself off exposed breasts. The long list of issues for Victoria’s Secret is obviously known and a part of their current revamping efforts. Martin Waters, chief executive of Victoria’s Secret & Co. noted that “when the world was changing, we were too slow to respond, we needed to stop being about what men want and to be about what women want.” The new additions of brands like Savage x Fenty and Skims into the lingerie and shapewear arena have shown that slow response to diverse marketing or an inability to pivot during a PR crisis can lead to a quick death. This past June, VS finally ditched the angel wings in favor of the “VS Collective,” touted as an “unparallel group of trailblazing partners” which includes Adut Akech, Hailey Bieber, Paloma Elsesser, Valentina Sampaio and more in approachable, editorially-tinged images that are already rolling out for the holidays. Sports Illustrated has pushed its content in recent years to feature models who are disabled, wearing hijab, and had Sampaio featured in their 2020 rookie editorial, making her the first-ever trans model to be featured in the publication.
“It’s not about a certain height, body shape, or hair color anymore. When we think sexy, we need to ask the question…sexy to who?”
For the agents, the terms around sexy have evolved significantly over the past few years now that models can cultivate powerful social media platforms. “Sexy is being confident and authentic,” Maja Chiesi, Senior Vice President at IMG Models explains. “It’s having an opinion, it’s using your platform to encourage social change.” What used to be successfully marketed when only the male gaze was considered, falls flat on today’s ears and eyes as models demand legal protections and reform. “It’s not about a certain height, body shape, or hair color anymore,” Chiesi believes. “When we think sexy, we need to ask the question…sexy to who?” Ali Kavoussi, Managing Partner at The Lions, describes how the pendulum has swung in favor of the buyers, who are directly telling brands what they want to see in comments sections and worldwide forums. “Before, clients were looking within the industry to maintain the status quo and to appease the longstanding gatekeepers who prevented change,” he explains. “Now clients are looking to understand and truly cater to the needs of their customers.” On Victoria’s Secret rebrand, of which some of his models call a client, Kavoussi says “it is a clear indicator that if you’re willing to confront justifiable criticism with an openness for thorough introspection, no person, company, or systemic organism is beyond the positive change that can result from it.”
From Models.com’s perspective, the clientele that used to be considered for Top Sexiest rankings continues to shelve out some of the biggest contracts and productions that a model can be a part of in their career. Tropical islands backdrops were always the setting for VS and millions have been spent on runway shows around the world. A 30-year-old veteran of the modeling industry, Models.com Managing Editor Betty Sze believes the evolution of “sexy” from unattainable body types into a more inclusive vision was one of the greatest advancements of the fashion industry. “My 15-year-old daughter is growing up in an atmosphere where all sorts of shapes and sizes are accepted and appreciated,” Sze lays out. “The Rankings have always reflected what is happening in the industry and the people on the Sexiest ranking typified the male gaze that drove what was considered ‘sexy’.” Senior Features Editor & NewFaces Editor Rosie Daly also attributes that the marketing around sexy was stuck in the early 2000s, the peak of the Brazilian Wave that brought forth the bombshell aesthetics that until recently was hard to shake. “Either you were sexy (i.e. young, slim, straight, not too ethnic, not too complicated) or not. No grey area,” Daly describes. “Thankfully within the past few years, it has taken on a lot more nuance. I think “sexy” these days is less about meeting a set of physical criteria and more about ideology than it is about sex.”
