Thing of Beauty

 
“One of the biggest ‘whatever happened to... ?’ queries in the fashion world gets answered here, as Fried, a writer for Philadelphia magazine, details the rise (cover of Vogue ) and fall (death by AIDS) of Gia Carangi, a sultry young beauty who shot to prominence — and shot heroin — during the 1970s disco heyday. It’s also a big ‘what if’ story: if Gia had not died, Cindy Crawford (dubbed ‘baby Gia’) may not have become the overexposed supermodedel she is today. Fried obviously means Gia’s harrowing life to be partly a cautionary tale for all those young girls who wish to be models. However, Gia had many problems (broken home, drug use, confused sexuality) even before she stepped in front of a camera. Fried deridingly describes a "20/20" segment on modeling as ‘a report meant to detail ‘the dark and anxious’ side of the modeling business but manages somehow to make the whole enterprise seem extremely glamorous anyway,’ yet his saga, packed with juicy scoops about other models and photographers, has the same effect. In other words, this book will have a tremendous appeal to a general audience.” — Judy Quinn, Library Journal