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Linda Morand (born May 26, 1946) was a successful American fashion model, cover-girl and haute couture mannequin during the 1960s and 1970s. Known as 'SuperChick', she appeared in national ads, magazine covers, TV commercials and national catalogs.
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New York Career
Linda Morand was born in Lindenhurst, Long Island. She was discovered by Eileen Ford in late 1965 while studying art in New York City and groomed into a top model for the Ford Agency. At 5' 9½ inches tall and 120 lb., Morand was naturally slender and did not have to diet to maintain her weight. Appearing on the fashion scene at the same time as Twiggy she was noted for making up very unusual poses and participating in innovative futuristic fashion layouts including light shows, robots, super-heroes, computers and James Bond type spy take-offs.
Morand is known for her resemblance to the former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Noted columnist Marian Christie wrote about a meeting of the two women in a 1971 Boston Globe article, "Resemblance to Jackie Pays Off", which helped to further Morand's career:
"Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Linda Morand recently met at that chic New York "dive" where Lost Weekend [sic] was filmed: P. J. Clarke's, and the two eyed each other suspiciously. There was every reason for the prolonged glance! of cool appraisal. The two are look-alikes 21-year-old Linda being the younger, prettier version. Linda, a successful Ford model who hails from a little town on Long Island, now is one of Europe's top models with her face currently, gracing the pages and covers of the slickest fashion, magazines, such as Italian Vogue, Elle and Jardin de la Mode."[1]
In 1966 as one of Vidal Sassoon’s house models, Christophe created her signature style, a closely cropped asymmetric cut. Linda Morand appeared in Vogue, Glamour, Mademoiselle, Teen, Elle and many more international magazines. Her favorite designer was Betsey Johnson, whose clothes she wore for many fashion layouts. She also modeled for Lilly Pulitzer. She was a favorite of Mademoiselle magazine's editors and photographers George Barkentin, David McCabe and Gosta Petersen.
European Career - Seventies
Francois Lano of Paris Planning, the biggest fashion modeling agency in Europe, made a deal with Ford to run during 1967 and 1968 when Morand was contracted to walk the runways of Paris and appear in the pages of the European fashion magazines, such as Elle, Marie Claire, Vogue, Vingt Ans in Paris and many Italian, Swiss and German fashion magazines. Her modeling career took her on assignments throughout the fashion capitals of Europe, including Paris, Milan, Munich and Barcelona.
Morand was based in Rome through 1969 modeling for fashion houses Valentino, Pucci and Roberto Capucci and playing small parts in a few Italian movies and TV shows, but she missed the runways of Paris.
Shortly after her marriage to French actor Philippe Forquet in 1970, her husband became a teen idol starring as General Lafayette in a popular prime time historical mini-series for ABC called The Young Rebels. The marriage though was shortlived. After an amicable divorce she returned to modeling in Paris.
Morand was once more cast by the biggest names in fashion by 1974. Her modeling assignments included walking the catwalks of the major European haute couture designers including Pierre Cardin, Jean Patou, Karl Lagerfeld, Emanuel Ungaro, Paco Rabanne, Chanel and Valentino. She became a favorite of renowned fashion photographers Helmut Newton, who shot a ten-page spread for Vogue Paris with Morand made up as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The pictures caused such a stir that Richard Avedon sent a telegram of congratulation, and said Jackie was ready to sue. This furor calmed down when it was pointed out that Linda Morand's name was mentioned in the article. This led to many more assignments throughout Europe, including many for German and Swiss catalogs. Hans Feurer photographed her for several layouts in Italian Vogue, Marie Claire, Mode International'.
In 1975, Morand decide to retire and raise a family. She stayed marginally active in the modeling industry as the owner of a small exclusive modeling school in the Eighties, a national photography studio and appearing from time to time in special bookings.
Currently, she is a journalist and maintains a website with the pictures and biographies of over 500 top models of the Sixties. She has recently signed on to "The Supermodels Hall of Fame" as co-executive producer.
References
- ^ Marian Christie "Resemblance to Jackie Pays Off", Boston Globe, 1970, as reproduced on faceex.com website.
References in Books
- MODEL:The Ugly Business of Beautiful Women by Michael Gross - 1995 Morrow pp. 292 - 293
- Made You Look by Denise Bella Vlasis ISBN# 1-928739-00-8 THRILLENNIUM BOOKS- Publisher
- Double Take by Devon Cass and John Filemon Publisher: ReganBooks; 1st ed edition (January 1998)
- Stylist The Interpreters of Fashion - Style.com - Rizzoli Publishing 2008 pg.122 Joe Zee
- Icons of Fashion The 20th Century - Prestel Publishing, Inc. 2005 Pictured on page 89 wearing Cardin.
External links
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