Much before Duran Duran thought of using supermodels in a music video (see our story on Girl Panic here), British singer George Michael was the first to promote them in his music videos – Freedom 90 and Too Funky.
It was only when Gianni Versace sent out Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford together onto the ramp at one of his shows that the media went into a tizzy. Overnight, the foursome became superstars and supermodels.
In Freedom 90, George – who has just split from Wham – does not appear in the video at all. Instead, you will find Naomi (in black lingerie) , Tatjana Patitz (leopard print), Christy (in a long robe), Linda (with platinum blonde hair) and Cindy (in a bathtub) mouthing the lyrics as they pose and strut around.
The video for Too Funky was released in 1992. It was directed by designer Thierry Mugler and hence was replete with costumes from his collections. However, George and Mugler had a fall-out before the video was released and the “Director” was not given credit. Instead, there is only a question-mark in place of Mugler’s name.
This video has Linda Evangelista making another appearance along with Tyra Banks and Nadja Auerman. Actress Julie Newmar (the original Catwoman from the TV series) makes an appearance as does Spanish actress Rossy de Palma.