Strictly speaking, when we’re talking about the supers it comes down to a select group of five: Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Tatjana Patitz and Christy Turlington. They were the darlings of every designer from Paris to London via New York and Milan and after starring in George Michael’s music video Freedom they were stamped firmly on the mainstream map.  That single, solitary moment was what birthed the supermodel era and although those five will always remain as the ‘originals’, models haven't exactly had a rough time of it since.

From deliberately shocking makeovers and complete image overhauls to those 'OMFG' moments on and off the catwalk that only the supers can pull off, they have weaved a colourful beauty tapestry. Some of these said moments – from the genetic lottery winners colliding when the supermodel ‘holy trinity’ was born, to the advent of the last decade's new faces - like Coco Rocha - hit the scene – have just been, quite simply, EVERYTHING… 

Click the gallery for a countdown of our favourite 20, then remind yourself of how supers led the anti-grunge movement in the 90s, below.