Kaia Gerber is still happening. She was the breakout star of last season’s fashion weeks. I wrote about her surprisingly stellar runway walk. Lainey wrote about Kaia opening the Chanel show in Paris in October, an honour Karl Lagerfeld only gives to the Model of the Moment. She’s arrived – definitively. Now what? Those were the two words that I thought when I saw photos of Kaia at the British Fashion Awards last night.
Kaia was up for Model of The Year but lost to Adwoa Aboah, obviously. The fact that Kaia was nominated at all (alongside Aboah, Gigi and Bella Hadid and Winnie Harlow) is a big deal. I can’t think of another red carpet appearance Kaia has done since her fashion week debut. Since then, as someone who doesn’t follow the inner workings of the fashion world that closely, I haven’t seen or heard much from Kaia Gerber. We haven’t really heard anything from Kaia Gerber at all. What does she sound like? What is her personality? In the age of the Instagram Supermodel, is it still enough to just have an excellent walk and a perfect face? Fans of Gigi and Kendall feel like they KNOW them. F-ck, I feel like I know them and I’m not even trying to. In the Now What? phase of Kaia’s career, does she need to step up her social media game a la Chrissy Teigen or get a reality show? I just creeped Kaia’s Instagram and while it’s very pretty, it’s also pretty boring.
Kaia is, of course, Cindy Crawford’s daughter. Cindy Crawford travelled with her throughout fashion week season. Cindy Crawford seems to be very hands-on with her daughter’s career. In Cindy’s day, you didn’t need a reality show. There was no Instagram. Your walk, your face and your style made you a star. Period. I am SO young so I don’t remember what the tabloid conversations were during the OG supermodel period but my guess is that it was a lot easier to remain mysterious and let the clothes do most of the talking.
Here, Kaia is rocking the sh-t out of a two-piece Ralph & Russo co-ord set. This outfit is doing a lot of talking. It says, “I am coming for those Best Dressed lists, Gigi and Kendall.” It says that she is willing to take risks while also playing it safe. She is nailing every pose in every picture. I’m obsessed with her earcuff. This is a strong showing at her first major red carpet event. Now what?