Cynthia Ann "Cindy" Crawford (American model)has collaborated with C&A on her first clothing collection."I have always dreamed of having my own fashion line and am thrilled to be partnering with C&A on this venture. It is important to me to be affiliated with a company that offers feel-good fashion with an unparalleled customer offering," said Crawford. "My goal is to help design comfortable fashion for everyday wear."
The supermodel has designed a 31-piece collection, called Cindy Crawford Collection @ C&A, that includes, Blazers, sweaters, cardigans, T-shirts, jeans, leather jackets and outwear. The pieces in the collection are all about comfort with prices ranging from €12 for a top to €149 for a leather jacket.
The collection will be sold in 1500 C&A stores across Europe, the range will also be sold online. Germany will kickstart the launch of the collection on August 27 in 500 stores and online.
more: Cindy Crawford Biography
Cynthia was born February 20, 1966, in De Kalb, Illinois. Cindy's big break stemmed from a lucky meeting she had with a newspaper photographer when she was 16 years old. During their chance encounter, the photographer insisted on taking a picture of Cindy, who was pollinating corn at the time. The photo and the positive feedback surrounding Cindy's photogenic talents were enough to convince her to quit her summer job and take up modeling.
Following two summers of modeling with Elite Model Management in Chicago, the all-American beauty decided to focus on expanding her mindset rather than her portfolio. Specifically, Cindy traded in the glamorous life a model (at least temporarily) to study chemical engineering at Northwestern University on scholarship.
The former high school valedictorian pulled off the same exceptional grades in college as in high school, but she didn't stick around long enough to see where a degree in engineering would have taken her as she left school in order to pursue a full-time modeling career. After working for photographer Victor Skrebneski in Chicago and becoming a success, Cindy took her supermodel assets to New York City in 1986.
To no great surprise, it didn't take long for Cindy to establish herself as a model. After two years, she was walking down catwalks for the biggest fashion designers and posing as a cover girl for fashion magazines. She had become one of the first to enter the elite group of original supermodels, along with models Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer and Linda Evangelista, and she had the salary to prove it.
In 1988, Cindy made more history as the first modern supermodel to appear in Hugh Hefner's mag. Her Playboy spread not only impressed men around the world, but it lead to her 6-year stunt as host for MTV's House of Style.
Always the entrepreneur, Cindy launched a series of swimsuit calendars and fitness videos, which were both tremendously successful. Her business savvy also came in handy when Naomi Campbell, Elle MacPherson and Claudia Schiffer invested in the Fashion Cafe chain, while Cindy saw potential in the then lucrative Planet Hollywood.
With contracts for Pepsi, Kay Jewelers and, most notably, Revlon, Cindy and her company, Crawdaddy Inc., began to see the fruits of her name, reputation and beauty. Always one to take risks, Cindy decided to pose for a different kind of cover shoot for Vanity Fair in 1993, posing with the recently "outed" K.D. Lang.
Named the planet's highest paid model by Forbes magazine in 1995, Cindy set out on more business ventures with her book, Cindy Crawford's Basic Face: A Makeup Workbook.
She even ventured into the movies (albeit unsuccessfully), in the 1995 film Fair Game, co-starring William Baldwin.
Her personal life has been nothing short of exciting. In December 1991, Cindy and Richard Gere were married after a 4-year courtship. Although People named the pretty woman and Pretty Woman star the Sexiest Couple Alive, the couple divorced after 3 years of wedded (and sexually questionable) bliss.
After allegedly being romantically linked to Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer, Cindy finally became Mrs. Rande Gerber in 1998. Proof of the consummation of the relationship came with the birth of Cindy's children, Presley in 1999 and Kaya in 2001.
With the combination of her new responsibilities at home and the fashion world's obsession with stick-thin models, Cindy has opted to stay out of the limelight and concentrate on her family and non-profit pursuits. For instance, Cindy is a huge supporter of leukemia charities (her brother Jeff dies from the disease) and donates proceeds from her products to fighting cancer.
On the whole, Cindy has proven that a supermodel needs a lot more than beauty to make it in the catty world of fashion; brains and personality are also required -- and a million-dollar mole doesn't hurt either.
