Supermodel Paulina Porizkova claimed the fashion industry no longer ‘creates idols’ as she returned to the London catwalk after 30 years.
The 52-year-old star, who burst onto the scene as a teenager in the 1980s, admitted the fashion industry has changed so much since her debut that she ‘hardly recognises it’.
Speaking to FEMAIL while in the UK for London Fashion Week, Paulina said that to be successful now models need to be celebrities before they hit the runway.
Radiant on the runway: Paulina Porizkova, 52, walks for Jiri Kalfar at London Fashion Week
Fresh face: A 19-year-old Paulina walks for Donna Karan at New York Fashion week in 1985
She said: ‘When I started in 1980, the photographers held the power and you had to be nice to the photographers.
‘Then, the models took over. We became more powerful than the photographers, the editors and, sometimes, even more powerful than the magazine for which we posed.
‘It was the beginning of the model as a celebrity culture. We, through modelling, became the celebrities. Now it seems you have to be a celebrity before you become a model.’
She added: ‘The fashion business no longer creates the idols. Now it just offers them a free ride.’
Spotted: Paulina was just 13 when this photo, taken by a friend in Sweden, ended up in front of John Casablancas, the American founder of Elite Model Management
Glittering career: Paulina, pictured in 1987, became one of the original supermodels
Glowing return: Paulina, right, with Jiri Kalfar, centre, as she closed his LFW show
This week Czech-born Paulina closed the Jiri Kalfar show, her first London Fashion Week appearance in three decades.
But the model said it felt like ‘riding a bicycle’. ‘The muscle memory was intact, and the breeze and the view were fantastic,’ she said.
Recently Paulina stripped off and posed with the word ‘truth’ written across her chest for a spread in the 2018 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue – 34 years after she first graced the cover of the magazine.
In an accompanying essay Paulina revealed she has reoccurring nightmares about posing for the publication at her age, explaining that in those dreams she is left waiting around in a bikini while younger models are being photographed in their swimsuits.
Young love: Early in her career Paulina starred in a music video for the band The Cars and fell in love with lead singer, Ric Ocasek, whom she married in 1989. Pictured, the couple in 1996
Family life: The couple with their sons Jonathan and Oliver in a snap shared by Paulina
Paulina was just 13 and living in Sweden with her mother and brother when she was discovered. Her friend, a budding make-up artist, had given Paulina a makeover and sent her photo into a local modelling agency.
The image ended up in front of American founder of Elite Model Management, John Casablancas, who invited her to Copenhagen.
After a ’15-second’ meeting, Casablancas invited Paulina to Paris.
From there, success was swift and Paulina soon became Paris’ most in-demand model. In 1984 she made history when she became the first woman from Central Europe to grace the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.
It also led to her appearing in the music video for The Cars’ single Drive, which led to her meeting her future husband, singer Ric Ocasek.
The couple have been married since 1989 and have two sons together. The family live in New York.