Not dissimilar to a scene from Zoolander, two titans of the fashion industry are limbering up in the competition over who will be the face of 2016. Cara Delevingne and Kendall Jenner have graced the pages of almost every major magazine over the course of the year, culminating in their celebrated September Vogue covers on each side of the pond. Having once been very vocal about their friendship on social media and in person, even giving themselves the couple nickname ‘CaKe’, the pair have gone quiet recently, suggesting a cooling off of their previous affection. Is this indicative of a more explicit rivalry between the two supermodels? And, moreover, what can their respective Vogue appearances tell us about their relevance in 2016?

Kendall Jenner barely requires introduction. She first found fame as a member of the Kardashian-Jenner family, who appear in the E! reality television series ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’. More recently she has made a name for herself in the fashion world as a leading figure in the ‘Instagirl’ era. During her very first season in 2014, Jenner walked for 16 fashion houses, including Chanel, Balmain, Givenchy and Marc Jacobs. In 2015, her catwalk credentials were bolstered by her appearance in the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

Since her eruption into the fashion world in 2014, she has starred in over seventeen leading campaigns from Balmain to Mango via Estee Lauder. It comes as no surprise that her family name was hugely advantageous to her career progression. Nevertheless, she has sped past the milestones of a successful modelling career with unparalleled speed. As part of the ‘Social Media Modelling’ movement (as named in Harper’s Bazaar), her reach goes far beyond the upper echelons of the fashion world, with a global fan-base and omnipotent social media presence.

While Jenner was born into pop culture royalty, Delevingne began a less-than-auspicious modelling career with Storm, where it took a year for her to book a paid job and two seasons of castings before walking her first show as an exclusive for Burberry. Her rise to fame began in 2012 when she was scouted by Christopher Bailey for his SS11 campaign. In 2012, she walked in 20 shows for major houses including Chanel, Burberry, Stella McCartney, Fendi and Moschino. Her it-girl status has shown remarkable longevity in the notoriously fickle fashion industry. However, by 2013 there was a marked drop in her volume of catwalk appearances, as she pursued a career in acting. She made her screen debut as Princess Sorokina in Anna Karenina (2012) and went on to perform more substantial roles in The Face of an Angel (2014), Paper Towns (2015) and Pan (2015). Moving into 2016, Delevingne continues to maintain her position in the fashion world, securing several leading campaigns, whilst her acting career has become more conspicuous, most recently appearing in the 2016 anti-hero film, Suicide Squad.

In comparing these two fashion giants, the British and American Vogue covers are very suggestive as to the role they have played in 2016. American Vogue has a far more global reach than British Vogue, and as such Jenner’s exposure is greater on this fact alone. However, there are also subtler indications of Kendall Jenner’s superiority in the comparison of the covers themselves. The emphasis on each model in their cover lines is very telling – Cara's name is noticeably smaller and positioned bottom left on the cover, whereas Kendall's cover line includes a K as large as the Vogue masthead itself. Cara's article focuses on her personal life and career change, whereas Kendall's article portrays her as an idol of her generation. Jenner's Vogue article is titled 'How Kendall Jenner Became the Breakout Model of Her Generation', suggesting that Delevingne’s epoch has been and gone. She has not yet entered the matriarchal ranks of supermodel legends like Kate Moss and Cindy Crawford, but is stranded in the no-man’s land of model-slash-actress. We are presented with Kendall in the context of her entire generation – relevant and omnipresent. Thus, even the way in which Vogue depicts the two women on the cover identifies Kendall Jenner as the undisputed champion of 2016.

In addition, Cara Delevingne's supposedly pivotal role as the Enchantress in Suicide Squad is overshadowed by the stronger female character, Harley Quinn, played by Margot Robbie. The latter’s media coverage (both good and bad) has dwarfed Cara's. The fact that Delevingne plays a trivial role in a disappointing film is symptomatic of her increasingly embarrassing foray into acting, the devastating reviews of Suicide Squad being the latest car crash.

The rivalry between two models such as Cara Delevingne and Kendall Jenner is a typical story of the wax and wane narrative so favoured in the fashion industry. While Delevingne was the unrivalled grande dame of 2012 to 2014, her pursuit of a (lack-lustre) acting career has created a vacuum both on the catwalk and in print. Kendall Jenner could not be more strategically placed to intervene, using her family fame and connections as a springboard into the industry. Her entry into the fashion world has been perfectly timed to coincide with the explosion of social media and the cult of personality that comes with it. So, while Delevingne’s slice of the CaKe may not be meagre, it will be Kendall Jenner who takes the cherry on top in 2016.