The writing was on the wall. Twenty-year-old model Daul Kim, who authorities believe committed suicide yesterday, gave indications that she felt pressured by the fashion industry on her blog, I Like to Fork Myself, and in interviews. “I’m usually very miserable, so I reward myself with a fur coat every year,” Kim told RUSSH magazine in October. On Oct. 30, she wrote on her blog that she “was mad depressed and overworked.” Another entry reads: “the more i gain the more lonely it is ... i know i’m like a ghost.” And her last entry, dated Nov. 18, was titled “say hi to forever” and she embedded British singer Jim Rivers’ “I Go Deep” video. Her boyfriend, who wished not to be named in the press, found Daul hanged in her Paris apartment the day after that.

Princeton University’s campus is about to get fierce! According to The Ink, the blog for the university’s press club, a class on fashion models is among the New Jersey school’s offerings in the spring.

It is the Ivy League, so don’t expect a class discussion on the latest season of “America’s Next Top Model” (sorry, Tyra). “Model Memoirs: The Life Stories of International Fashion Models” in the Comparative Lit and African-American Studies departments, will focus on “American, African, and Asian women in the fashion industry as a launching point for thinking about race, gender, and class.” Required texts include the life stories of famous models Alek Wek, Waris Diric, and Irina Pantaeva; students will discuss the constructions of femininity and ethnicity and relate their own ideas on beauty ideals in their assignments.

If you’ve ever seen an episode of “America’s Next Top Model,” you might be under the impression that most models—while nice to look at—are actually pretty vapid. Wrong! Bloggette Erin Gibson doesn’t want you to get it twisted anymore. She has set out to prove that these anatomically superior ladies and gentlemen, who probably owe their perfect faces and bodies to some sort of hermaphroditic hormonal imbalance, are actually hella smart. Her new blog, Models Are Smart, reveals all of the deep thoughts that models are thinking while they are “smeyesing” and contorting their superfine bodies into fierce poses. After the jump, you won’t believe what these models know. Looks like I can learn a thing or two from them. [Models Are Smart]

Oh my God, look! Models—not celebrities—on the cover of a fashion magazine! And they’re black! November’s Teen Vogue published a fantastic cover story about models Chanel Iman and Jourdan Dunn, who spoke candidly about the racism in the modeling industry and the competition that results when black models feel there can only be “one black girl.” (Chanel is actually black and Korean—damn, she should have been in our biracial hotties slideshow!) The pair dished to Teen Vogue about the fashion industry’s flat-out racism:

Iman: “You’re being told, ‘So and so is only booking one black girl. It’s either you or Jourdan,’ So we’ll be sitting in the lobby looking at each other like, ‘Okay, I want this job, and she wants it too. Which one of us is going to get it?’”

Dunn: “I remember last season, I was about to go into a casting, and my agent phoned and said, ‘Turn back. They decided they don’t want any black models.’ I was like, ‘They’re actually telling you that’s the reason? Are you serious?!’”

“I would not have become a supermodel in 2009. I look too healthy.”

—Supermodel Cindy Crawford disses the 100-lb models who are en vogue right now. But what we really want to know is how kind would modeling agents of 2009 be to facial moles? [Telegraph UK]

The online scientific journal Perception just published findings that claim young men rate women with healthy BMI’s (between 18.5-25) as “the most attractive and healthy looking,” as opposed to thinner ladies. Shocking, we know. Additionally, women were also more into guys with average builds, and both sexes were not turned on by the overweight either, which may be attributed to the fact that they were perceived as unhealthy. A professor associated with the study had this to say: “A take home message for young people is that maintaining a normal weight benefits current health and will improve good looks.” Uh-huh. While none of this information is the slightest bit revelatory, given the current model debate raging on and on, here’s some more conclusive evidence for the advertisers and editors that insist (extreme) thin is in. (Evidently, it’s not and never has been?) [Daily Mail]

Interested in becoming a supermodel? Sure ya are! Here, follow the Georgia Jagger method, satisfaction (ha) guaranteed:

1. Be born to celebrity parents. You may want to work this out with God beforehand.
2. Be moderately attractive and thin. This should be easy enough assuming that step #1 works out and you’re subsequently introduced into the Hollywood diet and body image culture.
3. Create a stir by appearing topless in an advertisement when you are still a minor.
4. Score yourself a Vanity Fair profile to up your cultural credibility (so people will actually want to hire you). Make sure it features tasteful yet provocative photos à la Miley Cyrus to rouse more interest.
5. Partner with other famous people. Now Georgia Jagger is following in Kate Moss‘s footsteps by landing a Rimmel campaign, a job that’s boosted by the fact that Coco Rocha will be the second face. Now just wait for the ads to come out, which will certainly lead to more work. Throw in a drug scandal and relationship drama, and there you have it ... the world’s next supermodel obsession. [Elle UK]

On Friday we told you about the controversy surrounding a Ralph Lauren print ad which featured a photograph of a model that was Photoshopped to s**t, whittling her waist to bizarre thinness. Ralph Lauren reps have since said the photo was an accident and doesn’t represent their brand ideals. Well, that model, Filippa Hamilton, appeared on “Today” this morning to blow up Ralph’s spot even more, claiming the brand fired her for being too heavy and not being able to “fit” in the clothes anymore. Check out her interview, above.

A model floats down the catwalk on a cloud of saffron yellow at John Galliano‘s runway show for his spring/summer 2010 collection. [10/7/09, Paris]

Even professional runway walkers have off-days. Yes, sometimes models wobble, and sometimes they fall down. Inspired by the this season’s models who hit the skids on the catwalk—thanks to all those crazy high heels—we’ve created a new dance: The Falling Model. There are three basic moves. Pick which one works for you, then try it out on the dance floor. You’ll impress all your fashionista friends!

The Oh-Hell-No: Pinwheel both arms, sending the right arm up and the left arm down as you dip towards the ground. Freeze. Smile like you know what you’re doing. Push out your chest as if you’re on the verge of a nip-slip. On tiptoe, spread your legs slightly, but do not flash your panties. Stand up. Do it again.

German models might soon find themselves out of work. Today, the country’s most popular women’s magazine announced that it’s banning professional models in favor of real people. Starting next year, the bi-monthly Brigitte will feature a mix of prominent women and regular readers in photos dealing with content from fashion to fitness in an attempt to fight unhealthy beauty standards and please readers who are sick of seeing models with “protruding bones,” said Andreas Lebert, the magazine’s editor-in-chief.

At Hussein Chalayan, a model showed off two emerging trends: a bag on your head and a dress grabbing your boob. [10/4/10, Paris]

Kind of ironic, huh? A book called Hungry that I just ate right up as quickly as I could. But model Crystal Renn‘s autobiography is that good. Seriously, I could not put down Hungry: A Young Model’s Story of Appetite, Ambition, and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves for two days straight.

In her incredible memoir, written with former Sassy health editor Marjorie Ingall, Crystal shares how she was just a teen girl living with her grandmother in Clinton, Mississippi, when a modeling scout changed her life. The scout approached her at a charm school class and said Crystal could be just like Gisele Bundchen if she wanted to—meaning, she had to take off a lot of weight. Over the next several months, a 165-pound Crystal became anorexic, starving herself so she could drop 70 pounds and become a “straight-size” model.

Remember when plus-size model Lizzie Miller appeared in Glamour magazine’s September issue and caused a s**t storm of comments and letters and the general outcry of ladymag purveyors saying “Yes! Thank you! Finally!”? We also knew the magazine was planning on shooting a spread of Miller alongside other curvy ladies, including one of our heroines, Crystal Renn, and subscribers got the issue today! (Amelia reports that the photos are really, really pretty.) The crew guested on “Ellen” today and editor-in-chief Cindi Leive announced the magazine is making a commitment to showing more diversity (both in terms of size and ethnicity) in their glossy pages going forward. Only time will tell, but it’s a big step in the right direction, no? And with all the attention the mag is getting, look out for others to jump in on the action. As Cindi observes, ultimately, the fashion industry is about sales. So are magazines. Fine. If money (and people) talking is what it takes to make editors accept that women are sick of size-zero glorification, well, we’ll take it. [Ellen]

Kate Moss was spotted leaving the John Frieda salon in London today, but it’s not her hair that caused us to look twice. (Um, definitely not the ‘do; perhaps she just got a conditioning treatment?) Maybe only a supermodel can get away with pairing black denim hot pants with tights, a leo underneath a blazer, and a rockin’ python bag all at the same time, but knee-high, slouchy brown boots are accessories that look good on everyone. We were trying to think of which high-end designer made these when we remembered our recent over-the-knee boot gallery and realized that, save for a slight color discrepancy, Kate’s boots were kind of spot-on knocked off at, wait for it ... Victoria’s Secret. With the huge demand for mega-high leather boots growing by the increasingly cooler-out day, we’d advise you to click over there and snap up the Devon boot ASAP. Because the majority of other options out there cost as much as, well, as much as Kate Moss’s actual boots probably did.

A model crowned with bird feathers navigates the catwalk at Gareth Pugh‘s Spring/Summer 2010 show in Paris. [9/30/09, Paris]

Does this look like a runway model to you? Maybe! Sick of looking at runways overcrowded by blond, Caucasian, skinny models? Pipeline has a terrific post on the latest trends in fashion model looks. The new professional coat hangers are girls with way more curves, men and women in their sixth, seventh, and eighth decades of life, burly dudes with body hair, and boys who aren’t afraid to wear dresses. Pipeline says: “From scary, hairy, husky dudes (thanks Vivienne Westwood!) to buxom gals in super-short minis (à la Mark Fast), this new model trend is sure keeping the typical shows a lot more interesting!” We love all the diversity. Check out the rest! [Pipeline]

This photograph was taken at Tokyo Game Show 2009 at the exact moment that these two models realized you couldn’t pay them enough to: a.) put up with all these geeks, b.) smile for the camera, and c.) wear those godforsaken outfits. [9/23/09, Tokyo]