Calvin Klein was the architect of Kate Moss' supermodel era (Credit: Pinterest, X) It's cool to be minimal today. Depending on the algorithm, either clean girl cuts get pushed onto psyches and into wardrobes, or conversely, some kohl-smudged supermodel grunge. Now while everyone's all too happy - and evidently super adept - at towing these lines, not many gauge the kind of vision, expertise and sheer force of will it needed to maneuver an entire generation of impressionable minds away from the leotard-clad, permed-up neon fever dream of the 80s. But it was done. And quite smoothly at that. Calvin Klein, for as seriously as he took himself, would have been a smugly satisfied man today had he lived to see the true Renaissance of minimalism which picked up a couple of years back. But as the visionary designer crafted wardrobes of the future, so he did the legacy of an 18 year old from the South London town of Croydon. We're of course, talking about Kate Moss. At no point in the early turn of the decades was 'plus size' even a concept on the runway. As a matter of fact, during the early 90s, Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell were considered 'voluptuous'. Let that settle in. The skinny-demic that decade birthed is infamous to-date - but so are some of its flagbearers, who definitely had much more to offer to world of fashion and modelling than just their near-malnourished measurements. Moss' story isn't one of being quaintly spotted in a cafe one fine morning after which her life changed. The then 18-year-old had already made it to the Big Apple, actively trying to break into the modelling scene and she'd had some luck with gigs here and there but nothing nearly as big as what was waiting for her. The story goes that Calvin Klein was actively sifting through reams and reams of model headshots, attempting to cast the perfect face for his campaign, aptly titled 'Obsession'. He'd already zeroed in on French fashion siren Vanessa Paradis, who right from the get-go wasn't all that sure about the pivot the designer was willing to bet his entire goodwill on. That's were God got to work on giving Moss her big break. The young model's name was suggested by photographer Patrick Demarchelier and went through several rounds of deliberation because Calvin definitely wasn't as sure about her as he had been about Paradis. Now here's another Easter egg: then-employee Carolyn Bessette (who went on to become the ever-famous, illusive and now-deceased CB Kennedy) took a look at Moss' headshot and was convinced she had that waif-like appeal of nothingness, which would allow onlookers to impose their fantasies on to her, as opposed to the campaign crafting a specific narrative for them. Calvin greatly trusted Carolyn's eye for the nifty and eventually gave in. Moss came in and shot for the campaign which was hinged on a heady mix of the label's now-trademark minimalism, and emotional realism made utterly erotic. Shot in the British Virgin Islands, Moss featured in it alongside her then real life boyfriend, photographer Mario Sorrenti. The billboards and glossy spreads went live shortly after and the rest was history as Moss went straight from being just another model to a raging overnight sensation. Now that's a story written both in and by the stars. Aalokitaa Basu is a writer and Senior Copy Editor whose work explores the intersection of lifestyle, culture, beauty, wellness, and self-possession. H... View More