The year of 2025, full of nonstop creative director debuts and luxury-house musical chairs, saw roughly 16 designer reshuffles. With that movement came newness and change, very on brand for the Year of the Snake. As fashion hit reset, Models.com spoke with some of the leading talent at the center of it all, from standout model moments to conversations with the image-makers working behind the scenes. These are 12 original interviews we kept coming back to.
Read on to see 12 of our favorite moments of 2025.
MODELS
Gabbriette Is On Her Best Model Behavior
Gabbriette has heard everything you have to say and is laughing straight to the bank—just ask Charli xcx, who can vouch for her as the industry’s favorite reference. Standing as fashion’s reigning Cool Girl™, who better than her to lay out the blueprint for model domination while having fun doing it. The Californian sultry vamp has perfected the art of the siren, effortlessly captivating audiences whether she’s fronting campaigns for MAC Cosmetics or Marc Jacobs. As she bounces from bottle blonde to gothically raven locks, The Perfect Magazine cover star proves reinvention is as easy as the advanced recipes she whips up. Fresh off a major year of collaborations, Gabbriette ushered Models.com into 2025 as she turned a Paris link-up with director Columbine Goldsmith into a full-on studio session filled with advice, pose instructions, and some epic one-liners.
Tyson Beckford on 30 Years of Modeling, Dandyism, and Defining American Cool
When you have an opportunity to shoot one of the most legendary models in the world for 48 hours, you make the impossible possible. With more than 30 years under his belt, Tyson Beckford, the original face of Americana menswear cool, returned to the Met Gala red carpet this year with a tailored Ralph Lauren look that was as much a tribute as it was a masterclass in timeless tailoring. Composed of a cream double-breasted dinner jacket accented with a red boutonnière, paired with black trousers, a crisp tuxedo shirt, and black velvet slippers, Beckford paid homage to the iconic designer, the model’s roots with the brand, and his 1994 Polo Sport debut campaign. With the night themed after Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, Beckford’s red carpet moment came full circle, celebrating three decades since he broke barriers as one of the first Black male supermodels to front a major American fashion house and become a household name. Directed by Will Pippin, find all the behind-the-scenes moments leading up to the Met Gala.
Kristen McMenamy Is Still Fashion’s Most Fearless Muse
Kristen McMenamy has never played by fashion’s rules—and that’s exactly why she’s rewritten them. She wasn’t scouted or discovered, famously willing her way into fashion while boldly approaching modeling agencies herself until one finally said yes. As a quintessential ’90s supermodel celebrated back then for her androgynous look, McMenamy’s formidable presence and iconic imagery cemented her legendary status in fashion. Whether shot by Richard Avedon in Atelier Versace or walking for Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, McMenamy’s presence has shaped the visual codes of high fashion for over three decades. She also doesn’t shy away from a controversial image, whether drowning in oil for a viral Vogue Italia Meisel shoot or stripping down for fashion’s visual provocateur Juergen Teller. Lensed by Kloss Films and shot in the intimate setting of her London home, the Models.com legend offers a peek into her personal wardrobe, walking us through her favorite pieces and the storied legacy they represent.
Mona Tougaard Always Finds the Light
After a season of closing runway shows, fronting covers, and stacking campaigns like Uno cards, Mona Tougaard earned a summer respite. In a world where fashion shoots often mean hours of waiting in the cold for a 0.3-second shutter click, the New Super has done it all: swimming through desert sand, trekking glaciers in kitten heels (they could have at least given her some height), and yes, even sharing a boat with a lizard (presumably unpaid). “I’ll do whatever it takes to get the shot,” she quips, and she often does; for photographers like Steven Meisel, Mert & Marcus, Alasdair McLellan, and Rafael Pavarotti, who’ve captured her singular presence across billboards, bi-annuals, and everything in between. Yet for Tougaard, even the most surreal setups register as just another day at the office. Enter the Danish-Somalian model’s latest editorial installment for Models.com, directed with satirical flair by Columbine Goldsmith.
Sora Choi Takes a Rare Pause Between Fashion Capitals
Versailles. Shanghai. Florence. It’s all in a regular show season for Sora Choi, who has jetted across continents this year with the ease of a seasoned pro. It’s expected from someone with as many remarkable achievements in her career as Choi. From closing Prada’s Fall/Winter 2025 show in Milan after a year long runway break to fronting campaigns for virtually every major luxury house, the South Korean powerhouse has long cemented her Industry Icon status. In this exclusive Models.com video feature shot by director Will Pippin, Choi lets her guard down to reveal her favorite haunts, her disarmingly shy and down-to-earth personality, and the playful spirit behind her runway poise.
Models.com The Graduates Class of 2025
For the past decade, Models.com’s The Graduates series has been a visual check-in with the models of the moment who have consistently performed at the highest levels, going from the rising newcomers on the Hot List to the Top 50 recognizable muses throughout the world. With major bookings in editorials, advertisements, lookbooks, and on the runway, these models have consistently locked down luxury clients in the most competitive markets while continuing to dominate on the global stage. To commemorate this season, we flew to Paris during the madness of fashion week to shoot all the top talent with photographer Valentin Herfray. This year’s cast connects with the Models.com team to divulge how they got their starts, the key brands and creatives that have made their careers, and taking their place in the upper echelons.
Supermodel Adut Akech Steps Into A New Era
Can you call it a comeback if you never really stopped? Still, it felt like one when supermodel Adut Akech swept onto the runway for Sarah Burton’s debut at Givenchy earlier this year: a runway return marked not by volume but by loyalty, aligning herself with the visionaries who have shaped her story from the start. Since then, she’s embraced a deliberately curated season, appearing only where it counts—high-profile cultural moments like Victoria’s Secret and Vogue World, alongside high-fashion peaks with Jacquemus, Schiaparelli, and select houses chosen with intention. As a new mom, Akech is easing back into work on her own terms, evolving into a version of herself that moves with equal parts clarity, joy, and purpose. Directed by Will Pippin, Akech opens up about life as a new mom, aligning with the brands that truly resonate, and balancing high-fashion glamour with the real-life priorities that now anchor her.
CREATIVES
Director & Photographer Daniel Sannwald On Creating Digital Dreamscapes
Few image-makers traverse the boundary between high-tech fantasy and emotional realism quite like Daniel Sannwald. The German-born photographer and director has carved out a singular aesthetic defined by high-gloss surrealism, digital manipulation, and a visceral intimacy, shaped early by the rediscovery of his late father’s archived artwork. A graduate of Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Sannwald has built an expansive visual universe that spans avant-garde editorials for Dazed, i-D, and Pop Magazine, Grammy-winning album imagery for Rosalía, and era-defining collaborations with cultural disruptors like Arca, Travis Scott, and Beyoncé. In his film shot for Models.com, featuring a cast of visionary talents including Arca, Kali Uchis, Eartheater, Hung La of Lu’u Dan, Isamaya Ffrench, and Pat Boguslawski, Sannwald’s journey plays out as a hallucinatory meditation on transformation, intimacy, and influence.
The Art of Collaboration: Karlie Kloss and Thom Bettridge
The role of magazines in shaping culture, whether it’s to amplify or to disrupt, has been up for debate as of late. With high production costs, dwindling revenue profits, and the ever-present drum of the digital sphere’s beat, it has been tough to justify making printed matter. Yet, there remains a loyal legion of devotees who yearn not just for a nostalgic return to print’s glory days, but a deliberate reimagining of magazines as cultural institutions for the next generation. Unexpectedly leading the charge behind-the-scenes has been supermodel Karlie Kloss, who has proven herself beyond her runway status – the tech-savvy entrepreneur has, in 5 years, morphed into a media-mogul with her company Bedford Media, spearheading a renaissance of publications, none more buzzworthy than i-D Magazine. After purchasing the storied UK-tome from Vice Media Group in 2023 and becoming its chief executive officer, Kloss appointed editor-in-chief, Thom Bettridge, in 2024 to stand at the center of its legacy as a DIY-driven platform where fashion, music, art, and internet culture converge. Directed by Kyleen James and Benson Thach, Models.com sat down with Kloss and Bettridge to reveal how business acumen and editorial vision intertwine, how magazines can still make or break cultural moments, and why, at their best, they remain necessary vessels for discovery.
FASHION
Raul Lopez’s Luar Reminds Fashion Who It’s For
While an unnerving news cycle loomed over the February shows and many designers alluded to the “tough times” [financial or cultural] or ignored them entirely, opting for an escape, Raul Lopez stepped up to the critical moment with a Luar F/W 25 collection that made a statement on the encroaching threats to the LGBT+ and immigrant community. Titled El Pato, a word that means “duck” or “swan” in Spanish but has long been weaponized as a homophobic slur, the show reclaimed the insult with powerful storytelling, opening to the haunting lyrics of Willie Colón’s El Gran Varón and built as an homage to the queer icons Lopez grew up admiring. Cutting through the noise with raw elegance and unapologetic defiance, Lopez’s brand has become the heartbeat of the Downtown fashion sect, delivering a runway lineup rooted in cocooning wool tailoring, python-printed asymmetry, and extravagantly feathered silhouettes. Directed by Will Pippin at the storied WSA Building, Models.com went behind the scenes to witness Lopez’s process leading up to the show, the palpable backstage energy, and his reminder that LUAR isn’t building community, it is community.
BEAUTY
Raoul Alejandre’s Surreal Glam Approach
California native Raoul Alejandre’s makeup goes far beyond brushes and pigments; he’s a storyteller, using faces as canvases for surrealist art. From his childhood in California, rummaging through his mother’s makeup bag, to collaborating with stars like Zendaya, Angelina Jolie, and Tyla, Alejandre’s journey has always been driven by curiosity. During the pandemic, his work emerged as a standout in the 2021 beauty scene for magazines like W Magazine, Vogue, and Dazed. Not only does Alejandre create makeup looks, but he also shoots photos and art directs (as seen on his Instagram and evident on set for this story with Abény Nhial and Jake Dupont). Directed by Brian Lynch, Models.com spoke to Alejandre about his inspirations, the power of initiative, and building a legacy of wearable art.
Hairstylist Anthony Turner On Why Authenticity Is the Future of Beauty
Sometimes all it takes is a single, fateful glimpse to change everything. For Anthony Turner, it was seeing Alexander McQueen’s monumental 2001 VOSS show in the pages of i-D and realizing, for the first time, that someone was creating the hair — and he needed to be that someone. Turner has since built a reputation as one of fashion’s most daring hairstylists, infusing runway and editorial imagery with a poetic, subversive flair drawn from alternative influences. From literature’s darker corners to queer, goth, and club-kid subcultures, he channels authenticity into beauty with raw, emotional edge. In this exclusive Models.com MDX cover story, we follow Turner leading hair at Ann Demeulemeester, Mugler, Acne Studios, and Jil Sander while capturing his techniques in motion. Together, we dive into how he found his voice, built his career, and continues to reshape the language of hair on fashion’s biggest stages.
