They worked with the top designers and photographers, though it was a music video, George Michael’s “Freedom”, which helped cement their status in the public consciousness as the first “supermodels”.

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“The 1990s was a unique time historically, where everything was converging – fashion, music, you had MTV just starting – right before the brink of the internet,” said co-director Larissa Bills.

“These women were like the original influencers. Before the internet, before social media, they were able to bring a whole world to the public in a way that hadn’t been done before.”

It is the first time they have shared their story together.

“The fact that they’re all in their 50s now … it was the right time. They’re in a more reflective space in their lives,” said Bills.

All from modest backgrounds, the foursome made millions of dollars and revelled in their stardom. But they also faced many of the horrific aspects of the fashion industry – addiction, eating disorders, sexual harassment, to name a few.

Evangelista faced perhaps the most challenging moments, with a husband accused of rape by other women (the case was finally dropped in early 2023), breast cancer and a botched cosmetic surgery which she says left her “disfigured”.

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Age is an undercurrent of their discussions and was underlined again in recent days after the foursome featured on the cover of Vogue in the US and Britain.

The distinct lack of wrinkles led many to accuse the magazine of doctoring the images.

For Bills, though, the series is a celebration: “They shouldered such a giant responsibility – to be 16 years old and the face of a brand. The industry was not regulated at the time and they really did it on their own. Well done to them.”