LEADER OF THE PACK

KENDALL JENNER IS THE GO-TO FOR THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION: SHE HAS FUN, LIVES TO THE MAX AND WORKS INCREDIBLY HARD. GLAMOUR AND GUTS; SHE’S A JENNER THROUGH AND THROUGH, AND FOR THAT WE LOVE HER. BY ZARA WONG. STYLED BY PAUL CAVACO. PHOTOGRAPHED BY PATRIC

Kendall Jenner is the go-to for the millennial generation.

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Science says babies will stare longer at a face that is beautiful, a standard measured with variables including facial symmetry and ratios. They act on pure instinct. We haven’t grown up much from that – only that it’s rude to stare. “The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives,” said Albert Einstein. When met with beauty, whether visual or even in music, the medial orbital-frontal cortex lights up. It’s the part of the brain that’s linked to pleasure, desire and decision making.

And in much the same way as the brain lights up when reacting to beauty, everyone has an opinion about Kendall Jenner and, by association, her family as they are depicted in Keeping Up With The Kardashians. The 20-year-old offspring of the Kris Jenner clan is indisputably one of the most famous working today, one of the most popular magazine cover models according to respected chartist Models.com, and you’ve likely seen her face on advertisements and a host of magazine covers.

She’s beautiful, sure – and officially so, according to a recent scientific study, thanks to her symmetrical face, large eyes, full lips and heart-shaped face. Coupled with her lissom 179 centimetres in height, a career in modelling seemed inevitable. “When I was a little girl, I was always tall and lanky, and supermodels were my superheroes,” remembers Kendall, who has long expressed a desire to be on the runway. “I would look through my mother’s fashion magazines and dream of making that my reality. Flash forward 17 years, and here we are!”

Kindly put, even a famous family – or in the case of the Kardashians, sometimes infamous – does not necessarily propel you to the top of the league. For every Angelina Jolie, there is a Tori Spelling. And with the added obstacle of a family known contemporaneously through the base pop culture lens of reality television, Kendall’s fashion career has sprung out beyond being just another Hollywood offspring model. A pivotal moment was being cast by star-maker stylist Katie Grand for the Marc by Marc Jacobs show in February 2014. Walking the runway with bleached eyebrows and a wig, she was not immediately recognisable – and proved Kendall’s versatility in the quick-to-judge world of fashion. A year after her runway debut, Grand had said to US Vogue.com: “I’ve worked with Kendall for a year now. It’s been fascinating to see the transformation from the shy teenager sitting in the Marc Jacobs reception to the supermodel she is today.” I had met the quiet teenager when she was photographed for Vogue Australia. The reserved 16-year-old was accompanied by her mum-ager, Kris Jenner, who spent the entire shoot sitting quietly to the side of the studio reading, out of sight from her daughter and the photographer. There was no reality television crew in sight, because Kendall was adamant that her modelling should happen without relying on her family fame.

With half her life spent on Keeping Up With The Kardashians, we've watched them partake in the usual sort of familial shenanigans that one would expect relatives to do. Met with doubts when it first launched, the real-life saga has gone on to become a smash hit, with viewers unable to get enough of the family. Are you a Kim, Kourtney, Khloé, Kendall or Kylie? In the clan, Kendall is the quieter one, often away from them on work appointments. “I think the greatest challenge in my career so far has been finding time for myself and the people I love,” says Kendall of her success. “I would never in a million years complain about what’s been given to me. This is my dream and, although there have been struggles or hang-ups, I'm incredibly blessed.”

Today, with a beauty contract with Estée Lauder (there should be no truer validation of beauty than this – they even let her make her own lipstick and eyeshadow palette), she’s a regular on blue-chip catwalks like Chanel, Fendi and Balmain. “She’s a very sweet person,” Karl Lagerfeld said of Kendall to US Vogue. “Very caring and not at all spoiled by those superficial successes. I must say I love her.” She’s the embodiment of the modern model, a perfect cataclysmic compounding of 21st-century pop culture fame with a classic, genetic lottery beauty – “beauty is not caused,” once quipped poet Emily Dickinson. “It is.” But, ultimately, Kendall’s appeal harks back to an era when models were personalities on their own – nowadays a model can’t get away with just being merely beautiful.

“I loved fashion in the 90s when models were celebrities. Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Carla Bruni were so inspiring; you wanted to watch a show not only for the clothes but also for the woman in the clothes,” says Olivier Rousteing of Balmain over Skype from his Paris office. He was an early supporter of Kendall, too, casting her in his runway shows and campaigns. “It is like that now with Kendall because people see the clothes but also see the girls who have something to say. They are powerful, with personalities.”

Although reflexively categorised as part of the selfie generation, Kendall bristles at the activity. “It just doesn't necessarily pertain to me exactly but [being asked] … how to take a perfect selfie – if you look at my Instagram, you can tell I’m not really big on selfies,” she explains. And this typifies what she is really about. A laymen less familiar with Kendall’s presence in fashion may assume she would take photos of herself – arm stuck in front – in a world where oversharing has become a currency, but it’s evident that she’s a vigilant self-curator. Mixed in with her professional work and humorous images, there are indeed photos of herself taken not by her but more often her modelling work, as well as her own photographs, its graphic composition combined with a natural, plein air mood. And what these girls do on social media has influenced fashion and the way the millennial generation self-curate online and beyond. “It is obvious to me that personalities who have massive international followings are tastemakers and have the power to create and influence trends,” says Alyce Tran of accessories label The Daily Edited, who keeps a close eye on the stylistic choices of the “K” girls, citing their use of a palette made up of nude, khaki and blush as influencing the colour scheme of her products. “For me, I can look at their profiles to see what they like, what they are wearing and see how that translates to consumers and how I might need to adapt my product strategy to touch on the prevailing trend of the moment.”

Instead, Kendall prefers to share only snippets of her life through her own photography, a passion that she is just only beginning to share with the public. “My interest in photography has always been there; it’s just now I’ve started being more vocal about it … I've always enjoyed sharing a small glimpse into my life via photos,” she says. “I more often than not will always have my camera with me and I'm just snapping pictures along the way capturing this journey. One day I'll be able to look back at this crazy, crazy ride and have all of these images to take me back.”

“I THINK THE GREATEST CHALLENGE IN MY CAREER SO FAR HAS BEEN FINDING TIME FOR MYSELF AND THE PEOPLE I LOVE”