The Bite Magazine Issue 17

Model Profile Gisele Bündchen I t takes something more than just beauty to become the highest paid model in the world and Gisele B ü nd- chen is so much more than just a beautiful model. A golden skinned and golden haired beauty, the Brazilian native is credited with ending the era of pale, emaciated ‘heroin chic’ models and ushered in the age of the ‘sexy model’: all curves, smiles and sparkle. Often referred to as the last true remaining supermodel, the lithe-limbed Brazil- ian has walked for the likes of Dolce & Gabbana, Marc Jacobs and Balenciaga and even landed a cameo in everyone’s favourite fashion film, The Devil Wears Prada , as Emily’s snooty friend Serena. Born in Brazil to a family of German descent, B ü ndchen was raised in the southern part of the country with her five sisters, two of whom joined her on a modeling course in 1993. She was dis- covered by Elite modelling agency just a year later and after taking place in several modelling contests she got her big break when she was chosen to walk for Alexander McQueen’s SS98 show, a seminal show that stands out as one of the designer’s most remembered. From there she landed a coveted spot on the cover of British Vogue , immedi- ately becoming the most cover girl of her generation (she has amassed an impres- sive 600 covers, a figure topped only by Princess Diana). As the model became more and more popular she ushered in a new era for models, firmly estab- lishing the ‘Brazilian bombshell’ as the newest catwalk trend. B ü ndchen even pioneered her own style of catwalk walk, known as the ‘horse walk’, a stomping movement created when a model picks her knees up high and kicks her feet out in front. A vastly popular model, B ü ndchen has also worked for the likes of Missoni, Chloe, Valentino and Chanel, becoming the face of one their ‘les beiges’ beauty campaigns as well as the face of Dolce & Gabbana’s ‘The One’ perfume. But more than any other campaign or magazine cover, what really solidified B ü ndchen as the ultimate bombshell was her casting as an elusive Victoria’s Secret model. The model walked for the lingerie brand for seven full years and even had the prestigious honour of wearing the most expensive Victoria’s Secret Fantasy bra ever (worth a record $15 million) during her first outing for the brand in 2000. Widely regarded as the world’s wealthi- est model, B ü ndchen has ranked rather highly on a series of Forbes lists, includ- ing 60th on the Forbes list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women, 3rd on The 20 Youngest Power Women of 2011 list at the age 31, Forbes also named B ü nd- chen and her husband Tom Brady as the World’s Highest Paid Celebrity couple, beating Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as well as Beyonc é and Jay-Z in 2011 and in August 2012 she was one of four people bite model profile A model who brought colour back into modelling as well as a specific walk, Gina Gill looks at the modelling career of Brazillian supermodel Gisele Bündchen.