Catwalk cutie is just three years old
She’s just three years old yet Millie-Belle is about to make her New York Fashion Week debut!
MOVE over, North West and Harper Beckham! There’s a new itty-bitty fashion baby breaking the internet – and she’s in such demand she’s been invited to strut her cute stuff down the runway at New York Fashion Week.
Three-year-old Millie-Belle Diamond from Australia might not have North’s or Harper’s celeb pedigree, but her wardrobe is so impressive she’s been called the youngest influencer in the world.
The designer labels crowding her cupboard would leave many a grown woman green with envy. Gucci, Versace, Louis Vuitton – you name it.
The tot has an Instagram account with 139 000 followers and her own fashion label – she wasn’t out of nappies when her clothing range, MBD The Label, was launched.
At just 18 months old she graced the pages of Australia’s Marie Claire magazine and she was invited to make her ramp debut at the exclusive New York Fashion Week a week after her third birthday on 4 February.
At the time of going to print she was set to become the youngest model to walk in the show for Little Miss Aoki, a line of luxury wear from Australian children’s label Mischka Aoki.
Millie-Belle and her mom, Schye Fox, are ecstatic about the invitation. “It’s crazy, we still can’t believe it!” says Schye (38), who until last year managed a cosmetic surgery practice. “Most of the girls who walk for Mischka are a bit older so it’s pretty crazy. It will be her first time on the runway.”
But it’s not the first time this toddler from Sydney is working with Winnie Aoki, the designer behind Little Aoki. Winnie also got her toffed up for her first red-carpet appearance last year.
Little Miss Aoki is a simplified version of Winnie’s haute couture label for girls, Mischka Aoki, which is popular with royalty and Hollywood youngsters alike. Last year one of their dresses, complete with 24-carat gold flowers and hundreds of Swarovski crystals, was selling at London’s swanky Harrods store for AUS $103 682 (R1,2 million at the time).
The dresses Millie-Belle was set to
wear on the runway aren’t quite so over the top – although they’re still out of the range most mere mortals can afford for their under-fives.
MILLIE-BELLE was just two months old when she made her Instagram debut. Mom Schye created a profile for her so the family’s loved ones in other parts of Australia could see pictures of her little princess and keep in touch.
Then in July 2014, when Millie-Belle was five months old, a repost of one of her pictures by Instagram page @fashionkids – which has 3,8 million fans – changed the family’s life.
“It was insane,” says Schye, who styles her daughter, takes the pics and posts them on the social network. “They shared a pic of her in a cute little leopardprint bow and outfit and it went around the world.”
Pretty soon major fashion labels were sending them clothing for free, hoping Schye would share pictures of her dainty daughter wearing the outfits.
Millie-Belle’s dad is Mick (44), a former soldier and she has six older half-siblings from her parents’ previous marriages. The girls would tease their mom at first, saying the tot had only 70 likes on her Instagram posts.
“They’re not laughing any more!” says Schye, who now manages a leather cap range.
It was reported that Millie-Belle was paid $250 (R33 000) per post, but Schye says they haven’t received a cent.
“We don’t take payment for posts on Instagram,” she says. “There’s a lot of opportunity to do so but being busy with our label we don’t have time to meet the requirements that come with paid posting.”
Some people have criticised her for being an Instamom and using MillieBelle as a meal ticket but that’s “completely ridiculous”, Schye says. “Apart from clothing and things that we get sent I still have to buy a lot of clothing to keep up with current trends.”
AST HOME Millie-Belle is like any other toddler, Schye says. She enjoys outings to the beach, dancing and picking flowers. And she’s the apple of her dad’s eye. “The bond they have is unbreakable. She follows him around. They dance, sing and play kitchen and dress-up every single day.”
Millie-Belle isn’t nervous about her catwalk debut. She’s a seasoned model; she’s modelled for children’s fashion range Stella Phoenix, designed by Pretty Little Liars actress Tammin Sursok.
“She actually talks about [the show] and practises her walk every day,” her proud mom says.
“It’s pretty funny – she’ll walk down to the end of the hall and do a little bum wiggle and we’re like, ‘Oh God, this is going to be interesting.’ But she loves it. She can’t wait.”
Gigi and Bella Hadid, you’d better watch out.