Chanel Iman

To hear Chanel Iman tell it, she was born for the role of supermodel. "I used to dress up as a model for Halloween, like every year," she laughs. "I would study all the magazines and practice all my poses and my walk." So begins the story of fashion's most-talked-about newcomer. Chanel nailed her first full season of shows with an A-list lineup that included Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schouler, Dolce & Gabbana, Alexander McQueen, and Valentino. She would have done Louis Vuitton and Lanvin, too, except she was only fifteen at the time of Fashion Week and, being a minor, couldn't work on Sunday in Paris. "I want to go all the way," she says of her career ambitions. "My goal is to be a household name, and when I do that, I want to help other girls become models, and maybe even launch a fashion line with my mom, like Beyoncé did with her mother. My mom has such a good eye," she says, "and it's always been a dream of hers. I'd love to be able to do that for her." If her current star path is any indication she'd better start brainstorming names. After all, Chanel is already taken.

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