By Condé Nast Archive
By Ivan Shaw
Cheryl Tiegs and Rene Russo in Hawaii (1974-12-01) by Helmut NewtonCondé Nast Archive
“I don’t want to work with her, she’s not my type.” This was the word back from photographer Helmut Newton about a relatively unknown model at the time, Cheryl Tiegs.
Cheryl Tiegs in a Bill Tice Robe, Vogue (1974-12-01) by Helmut NewtonCondé Nast Archive
Though the young Minnesota native had “graduated”
from Glamour to Vogue, she wasn’t a household name when she was called before the German-born photographer, fashion director Polly Mellen, and Vogue editor-in-chief Grace Mirabella, who were planning a big feature for the December holiday issue that was to be shot in Hawaii.
What this daunting trio were looking for was to book a model who would work well with another new face (also destined for mega-success), Rene Russo. Mirabella and Mellen decided Tiegs fit the bill, overruling Newton, and told the model to pack her bags. It was a good call; the resulting shoot has become iconic, and within a few short years Tiegs was known around the globe.
Cheryl Tiegs and Rene Russo In Maui, Vogue (1974-12-01) by Helmut NewtonCondé Nast Archive
The most memorable image from the legendary story, “Hawaii—Adventures in Sundressing,” captures Tiegs and Russo dancing to a record player on the top of Maui’s Haleakala volcano. At the time, the picture, with its sapphic overtones, was wildly controversial.
As Tiegs recalls, it was an intense day on set. Russo, who was going through a rough patch, cried during the shoot, and Tiegs remembers Russo being in tears while the picture was being taken.
Tiegs also reports that Newton, having been strong-armed into casting her, had a change of heart in Maui.
Not all of Tiegs’s Vogue shoots were quite so dramatic. Before working with Newton, the model worked frequently with photographer Kourken Pakchanian, an of-the-moment talent in the early seventies.
Pakchanian was particularly adept at capturing the modern woman, whom Mirabella felt was the key to the magazine’s success then.
In a story for the September 1973 issue, Tiegs, hair blown back by the wind, hand on hip, is pictured looking for a cab on Park Avenue. “I want you to be very much a businesswoman,” Pakchanian told her, “very determined, on the go, but beautiful.” She complied.
Cheryl Tiegs in Elio Berhanyer Swimwear, Vogue (1973-12-01) by Kourken PakchanianCondé Nast Archive
Later that year she and Beverly Johnson traveled to Rio with Pakchanian where, Tiegs fondly recalls, they spent their days working on the beach and literally danced the nights away.
Today Tiegs is more likely to be found practicing yoga than catching a flight, having taken a sabbatical from modeling.
Beverly Johnson and Cheryl Tiegs, Vogue (1973-12-01) by Kourken PakchanianCondé Nast Archive
Before she stopped the music, as it were, Tiegs posed for a 1975 Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover that rocked the world.
Cheryl Tiegs in a Leonard Fashion Ensemble, Vogue (1973-12-01) by Kourken PakchanianCondé Nast Archive
In 1980 she signed a deal with Sears that reportedly netted the company an astonishing $1 billion, making her a real-life boss lady.
Pakchanian would have been proud.
