Trish Goff

By Sara Templeton

The fashion scene, and modeling in particular, often get bad press about the waif-like appearance of models, and Trish Goff found out first hand about the rigors of the job. 

Before we go into the details of the controversy surrounding one of Goff's advertising campaigns, let's look at where it all started:

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1976, Trish's natural beauty was always evident, with her parents noticing early in her adulthood that she was a gorgeous girl.

While the details are a little sketchy of her youth, her big break came when she was discovered by a photographer after she and her family moved to Florida.

Still just a teenager, Trish Goff's porcelain facial features and tall stance made her quite popular and before long she was jetsetting off to do photo shoots at inspiring locations.

In 1995, when she was 19 years old, Goff scored the covers of Vogue in not just Italy, and even a supplement, but also the UK and Germany. And once her face had been seen on these hugely popular magazine covers, her reputation soared.

With Goff's face on the cover of their magazines, many went on to sell through massive amounts, and result was that every beauty magazine editor wanted her for their cover. 

In that same year, '95, Goff appeared in L'Officiel in Paris and Petra in Germany.

When she turned 20, Goff adorned the front pages of both May and July issues of Cosmopolitan in the USA - which was quite an event, seeing as they were based in her homeland - and the German and French editions of Vogue yet again.

While in the late '90s her magazine covers died down somewhat, she still appeared on the Spanish edition of Vogue in 1998 and Marie Claire in 1999.

As her reputation grew, the designers wanted her to model their products, and the names such as Versace, Gucci and Prada weren't shy about letting her know.

As such, she was in hot demand and has modeled for the following designers: Calvin Klein, Chanel, DKNY, Dolce & Gabbana, Donna Karan, Gianni Versace, Givenchy, Gucci, Les Copains, Loewe, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, MaxMara, Moschino, Ralph Lauren, Paco Rabanne, Tommy Hilfiger, and Yohji Yamamoto.

Furthermore, she'd starred in advertising campaigns, both print and television, for Christian Dior, Elizabeth Arden, Krizia, Loewe, Louis Vuitton, Marks and Spencer, Missoni, Romeo Gigli, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sportmax, Valentino, Versace Couture and Versus, to name just a few.

And then, when everything seemed to be running smoothly, Trish Goff was surrounded by some rather unhelpful controversy...

Watchmaker Omega allegedly threatened to pull its advertisements featuring Goff from an issue of British Vogue, for reasons pertaining to her skinny physique: You're damned if you do, and you're damned if you don't...

Still, you know what they say: even bad publicity is good publicity, and for Trish it didn't end her career - far from it. 

The fashion industry is chock full of petty people whose egos are often put before the creativity that should be the focus, that should be numero uno. And more often than not this is what sparks disputes. But for Trish Goff, it didn't deter her, and she continued to have a prosperous career in the fashion industry.

Today she is married to Aaron Ward, a fashion photographer, and they have since had a baby son together, named Nima. 

While in modeling terms, Trish is now technically beyond her use-by date, she still appears in fashion shows, thanks to her amazingly chiseled look. 

Is age - or the lack of - an intrinsic aspect of beauty, and to that end, how do we define beauty? 

We can't - it's in the eye of the beholder, and with that little nugget of wisdom, I must bid you all farewell. Until next time...

Source: Unknown Photography: Unknown	Source: Unknown Photography: Unknown
Source: Unknown Photography: Unknown	Comment: Mid-1990s fashion will make a comeback, one day.