The last word: What makes supermodel Coco Rocha hot?

A supermodel is like a ‘toxic asset,’ says sociologist Ashley Mears. Both are created by groupthink

Coco Rocha: Product of a social phenomenon
(Image credit: Getty)

IN 2002, A tall and skinny 14-year-old girl competed in a dance contest in Vancouver, British Columbia. There she encountered a modeling agent, who asked her to consider going out for modeling jobs. Today, the 22-year-old Coco Rocha is celebrated as a “supermodel” (however little glamazon power that term retains these days), appearing on covers of Vogue and i-D magazines, on catwalks from Marc Jacobs to Prada, and as the star face for Dior, H&M, and Chanel. You might not recognize her name, but chances are you’ve seen Coco Rocha in the past few years.

Rocha is what economists would call a winner in a “winner-take-all market,” prevalent in culture industries like art and music, where a handful of people reap very lucrative and visible rewards while the bulk of contestants scrape together meager livings before they fade into more stable and far less glamorous careers. The presence of spectacular winners like Coco Rocha raises a great sociological question: How, among the countless wannabe models worldwide, is any one 14-year-old able to rise from the pack? How, in other words, do winners happen?

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us