Fashion is incredibly cyclical. For as many new techniques and technologies the industry embraces, fashion also goes back to the well for historical aesthetic inspiration season after season after season. The '90s have experienced a revival over the last few years with the reintroduction of crop tops, grungy plaids, and overalls, but fashion's throw back to the '90s is not limited to the clothes. This year, models dominated the pop culture conversation in a way they haven't since the '90s Supers, and one model in particular arose in the image of those cultural powerhouses: Gigi Hadid.

There are, of course, other huge names in modeling right now -- Kendall Jenner, Karlie Kloss, Joan Smalls, Jourdan Dunn, to name a few -- but none of them are pulling from and redefining the Supers' playbook in quite the same way as Gigi. There are certain ingredients that ladder up to supermodel status -- extensive range, personality off the runway, crossover experience in other industries, and the newest for the 21st century supers, accessibility -- but Gigi is the only one to embody all of the above, and she does it in spades. And once Cara Delevingne -- the last most likely heir to the Supers' throne -- all but evaporated from fashion to focus on her film career, the runway (literally and figuratively) was left open for someone to fill that role.

This year, Gigi inked a major brand ambassador contract with Maybelline, graced the cover of five separate international issues of Vogue, and walked in 17 different fashion shows -- including the nationally televised Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. She was named Model of the Year, attended her very first Met Gala -- which is basically like fashion prom -- and became the fact of social media-savvy models.

Outside of fashion, Gigi appeared in Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" music video -- her induction into Swift's infamous power clique -- starred in "How Deep Is Your Love," and even earned herself a directing credit with "Cake By The Ocean." She's captivated our attention with all aspects of her personal life thanks largely to her brazen personality and strength of character.

What's more, though she entered our collective consciousness thanks to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Gigi spent most of her adolescence doing normal teenager stuff like going to school and playing sports, giving her the ability to straddle the line between her aspirational lifestyle and accessible nature -- an important contributing factor to broad appeal. The craziest part of Gigi's story is that she only made her runway debut last year -- in 2014 -- so if her star keeps ascending at this rate, she'll be the biggest name in fashion in no time.