Nine perfect 10s

A new generation of international models were annointed today as the successors to the likes of Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss - and only one of them is anything like a household name.

Rangy Brazilian Gisele Bundchen has enjoyed a highprofile on/off relationship with the actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

But the likes of 16-year-old schoolgirl Gemma Ward and Liya Kebede - an Ethiopian-born beauty who was recently announced as the new face of Estée Lauder - will be known to a mere handful of people outside the fashion industry.

And only one Brit makes the cut. Oldham-born Karen Elson was mocked for her chalk-white complexion and flame-red hair when she first appeared on the modelling scene. While she has since appeared on numerous magazine covers, she is still relatively unknown.

The models were chosen by the US edition of style bible Vogue, which has dumped its regular movie-star covergirls. The magazine says the new elite are poised to become the Cindy Crawfords and Elle Macphersons of their generation.

Vogue's list of rising stars is completed by Hana Soukupova, Karolina Kurkova, Isabeli Fontana, Natalia Vodianova and Daria Werbowy.

But there could be some bad news on the horizon for the new breed - although Vogue tips them all for success, it believes the days of the superstar supermodels are numbered.

Sally Singer, US Vogue's fashion news director, said: "The very top people in fashion have their lives, go to work and go home.

"It's cooler to walk down the street and have only the people who should know you know you. It makes you part of this supercool club."

Warming to her theme she added: "Fashion is always slightly ahead of the curve culturally, and people are tiring of celebrities. Reality TV and the internet have cheapened being a celebrity. To be famous now is to be Paris Hilton."

What a sobering thought.