In the world of fashion, they are oldies but goodies.

To the surprise of many, it is no waif-like Eastern European model grabbing the attention of fashion watchers in the September edition of Vogue. Rather it is Linda Evangelista, the 43-year-old new face of Prada.

In an eye-catching play to a public who have less to spend as the credit crunch worsens, the supermodels — the elite group of Amazonians who took the world by storm in the early 1990s — are back in fashion.

With Claudia Schiffer, Christie Turlington, Eva Herzigova, Helena Christensen, Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell, Evangelista took fashion modelling and salary demands to a new level. She is often quoted as saying that they “didn’t get out of bed for less than $10,000”. But those who thought their profile would fade as they aged have been proved wrong.

As the face of the autumn/winter Prada collection Evangelista is back on the front line, Campbell is starring in the new Yves Saint Laurent campaign, Turlington is the most recent face of Escada and Schiffer is modelling for Salvatore Ferragamo.

Carol White, managing editor of Premiership Model Management, says that the renaissance of the supermodels can be credited partly to the need to appeal to those who have more disposable income — generally older women — and the need to have models who are instantly recognisable when there is less cash to splash.

“In times of financial instability,” she said, “brands go for top quality; they want to sell dreams. There is much more punch with a girl like Linda than a beautiful face from Ukraine.

“Over the past four or five years we’ve seen an influx of beautiful but bland girls from Eastern Europe. Today, fashion brands are looking to spice things up with strong personalities and iconic women.”

The trend is good news for the fortysomethings who have all, at some time or other, slipped off the fashion radar. Known in the early 1990s as “The Trinity”, Evangelista, Campbell and Turlington pushed for better wages for models. They paved the way for the likes of Giselle Bündchen, who last year topped Forbes.com’s list of the top-earning models in the world, bringing in $33 million (£16.7 million).

Ms White said that the 1991 recession had shown the industry the value of “the Supers”. She said: “Our agency looked after every single one of the supermodels and we weren’t affected at all. In fact, they were doing better than ever. These models get people shopping.”

Two decades on, the likes of Evangelista might not command so much as they did, but their fee is only fractionally less. According to Ms White, each can expect at least £300,000 for a campaign — 300 times more than an unknown face would receive.

Sophie Baudrand, bookings editor at Vogue, said that using the supermodels made economic sense. “They were elevated to such a status that, still, customers have an instant relationship with them,” she said.

Their experience and professionalism is also securing them jobs. Stefano Pilati, creative director at Yves Saint Laurent, explained his decision to use Naomi Campbell. “Today there are beautiful girls, but they don’t have that attitude. Now I realise how perfect Naomi is in my clothes. The clothes, they hang differently, they move differently, they come to you.”

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