I've always had my favourite models from time to time, Kate Moss being an all time favourite, as I believe models are just as crucial as the photographer in producing pieces of art. However, unlike Kate Moss, who is a very good and diverse model, Amy Wesson wasn't generally all that fantastic, but I became fascinated with her after reading her story in one of the first issues of Teen Vogue nearly 10 years ago when I was in Florida. She was part of the breed of supermodel that mixed with the supers and the super-waifs, and was on the team that ushered in the heroin chic aesthetic during the mid 1990s. Ironically, Amy Wesson, a small town girl in her teens, developed a severe drug addiction and suffered a steep downward spiral which drastically effected her career. I sometimes felt, that in some of her pictures, I could see the spiral.
To me she was one of the first, influential models of the turn of the century, alongside the Angela's, Maria Carla's and An Oost and Anouck Lepere, and the ones I'd hope to see on the catwalk and in new editorials when the seasons changed.
Since then, her face has popped up here and there, and surprisingly has fronted the odd big campaign (MaxMara perfume was her most recent), but what touched me the most was an editorial for hipster-wank rag Vice Magazine, called 'The Bitter Tears of Amy Wesson'. Now 33, the editorial summed up to me the painful journey this woman endured, and the history she was infamous for within the fashion industry.
Despite not being a household name, she worked some high profile campaigns and was photogrpahed by famous photographers such as Mario Testino, Bruce Weber and David LaChapelle, so her diversity was there. But some people will recongise her purely as the odd looking girl on the cover of the album and singles from Adore by Smashing Pumpkins.
