Gia Carangi: how fame ruined the first supermodel in history
'10.02.2021'
Source: FWD
Jia Carangi is a model whose story both teaches us to believe in luck and, at the same time, serves as a sad lesson. The beauty who climbed to the top and lost everything so quickly, 30 years after her death, continues to be a legend in the fashion industry - one of the first supermodels in the world and one of the first celebrities whose lives were taken by AIDS, writes FWD.
The beauty of Gia, who got into her first advertising campaign for Versace at the age of 18 right from behind the counter of her father's bar, was radically different from the images of all other successful models of the 80s.
Unlike smiling blondes with perfect facial features, Carangi was far from a stereotyped model: her non-standard, Italian appearance was unexpected, and, thanks to this, a much-desired phenomenon in the fashion industry.
The famous fashion photographer Francesco Scavullo, whose favorite was called Carangi, shortly before his death described her as "innocent, sensual, vulnerable and sincere", "like no other model was."
According to him, Gia always worked on a whim: she did not portray passion, coolness, affection, she did not get into an advantageous position - during any shooting she sincerely lived in the way that the photographer needed, and that is why she was so good at photo shoots.
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Gia explained her attitude to modeling in an interesting way, calling the profession deeply psychological. According to her, a real model should “create moods”, but we must not forget that these moods change, like trends - the fashion for different emotions comes and goes. The secret of success is to be able to get rid of the feelings you have just played - you cannot get stuck in them, transfer them from the set to your daily life.
Perhaps Karanja's main problem was that, by nature, passionate and ardent, she never learned to cope with these emotions.
In 1998, a biographical picture was released, in which a very young Angelina Jolie played the role of Carangi. The film touches to the depths of the soul with the sincerity of the story told, the energy of the main character, which Jolie so successfully played. It should be noted the beauty of the scenery and costumes - the film "Gia" is very high quality aesthetically stylized.
Carangi's career was fast-paced and it's amazing how much she managed to do in four years of popularity: the model appeared on the covers of French and British Vogue, her nude photo shoot for the American version of the magazine became a real scandal of that era.
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Drug addiction became an insurmountable obstacle for Karanja and, as a result, led to the fact that the beauty was unable to behave professionally - hysterics, replaced by drowsiness, became constant companions that interfered with any high-quality photography.
The footage of the model's last interview shows that it is difficult for her to concentrate on the conversation with the journalist and behave appropriately:
In 1986, Carangi was diagnosed with AIDS - by that time she had completely retired from modeling and earned her living in all possible ways, so it was impossible to determine exactly how Gia got her ailment.
Karanji died in the same year, and her story - of great talent and an amazing chance that she could not use wisely - after a long time turned into an important lesson that everyone who connects their lives with a sphere that is experiencing strength and ability to resist temptations.
