Gigi and Bella’s year of triumph
AS DESIGNER DONATELLA VERSACE presented Gigi Hadid with International Model of the Year at this month’s Fashion Awards, the 21-yearold’s voice cracked with emotion. ‘This is so crazy,’ she tearfully told an audience including Mario Testino, Anna Wintour and Bruce Weber. ‘I just want to say that I know that I’m in the generation of social media, and I’m so blessed for that, but the fashion industry is my family, and you guys are the ones that I’m here for. You guys know who I am.’
Her win marked the end of a triumphant year in which she walked for Versace, Chanel, Elie Saab, Marc Jacobs,
Balmain, Victoria’s Secret and Miu Miu, opened five shows and closed seven during Fashion Month in autumn, designed collections for Tommy Hilfiger and Stuart Weitzman and became the global ambassador for Reebok.
Yet more remarkable is the fact that Gigi has done it all beside her younger sister Bella who, in a fashion first, was nominated alongside her as Model of the Year. In the last 12 months, Bella, 20, has herself walked for Chanel, Givenchy, Versace, Fendi, Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs and Victoria’s Secret. Then, after becoming Dior’s beauty ambassador and starring with Kate Moss for Calvin Klein, she was crowned Model of the Year in her own right at the GQ Awards in September.
All of which means it’s been almost impossible to ignore the Hadid sisters in 2016. Factor in their social media prowess (Gigi has 26.7 million followers on Instagram to Bella’s 8.7 million), their A-list squad of friends (Taylor Swift and Kendall Jenner are on speed-dial) and their high-profile love lives (Gigi is dating former One Direction star Zayn Malik, Bella was with Canadian singer The Weeknd until last month), and it’s no surprise they’ve become the biggest models of the moment.
‘We work incredibly hard,’ Bella exclusively tells Grazia. ‘We just get chills thinking about everything that has happened this year. I never dreamed I would be where I am today.’ Shrugging off any suggestion of sibling rivalry, she adds, ‘Gigi is my comfort blanket. We cheer each other on and we’re not competitive. She’s an incredible person and I’m lucky to have her as my sister.’
While Bella once harboured dreams of becoming an Olympic horse rider (she is a nationally ranked equestrian), she was forced to pull out when she was diagnosed with Lyme disease, which her mother Yolanda, a US reality TV star, also suffers from. Instead, it was Gigi who was determined to model – landing her first campaign with Guess aged just two.
Now, they are both at the forefront of a new wave of supermodels defined as much by their celebrity as the campaigns they front. Their peers include Hailey Baldwin, Kendall and Karlie Kloss – who just happen to be among their closest friends. Discussing the sisters’ model squad, Bella says, ‘If I ever feel nervous on the runway, I just go up to Kendall or Joan [Smalls] or Lily [Aldridge] or my sister and bring myself back. We’ve all been friends before this even happened to any of us. They’re amazing.’
So what’s their secret? Friend and fellow model Martha Hunt tells us, ‘Gigi is the ultimate all-american, gorgeous and personable supermodel phenomenon. She’s as cool in real life as she is in shoots and she’s the most fun person behind the scenes.’ And in Joan Smalls’ words, Gigi and Bella’s ‘personalities speak volumes’.
Yet the girls are not without their critics. In November, Bella came under fire when she was blasted as ‘too thin’ to represent Nike. While she admits, ‘I’ve been working out very hard,’ she adds, ‘I don’t deprive myself, and I feel happy and strong and confident. I know who I am, so I don’t worry about it.’
Gigi, meanwhile, has consistently been attacked for the shape of her body – first
GIGI IS MY COMFORT BLANKET. WE CHEER EACH OTHER ON. WE’ RE NOT COMPETITIVE
for being too curvy, then too athletic, then too thin – while others have taken aim at her walk on the runway.
Last year, she hit back at her detractors, writing online, ‘No, I don’t have the same body type as the other models in shows. Yes, I want to have a unique walk but I also know I have to improve. You can make up all the reasons you think I am where I am, but really, I’m a hard worker that’s confident in myself. Yes, I have boobs, I have abs, I have a butt, I have thighs, but I’m not asking for special treatment.’
‘Gigi gets really emotional about the criticism,’ says Bella. ‘But I think she just tries to keep grounded and realises that it’s just people on the outside talking. Everybody around her loves her and knows who she is. Plus, she always ends up succeeding from those things anyway.’
By all accounts, the secret behind their continued rise is their boundless sense of humour and faultless work ethic. ‘I’m fortunate to work with Gigi a lot and she’s kind of amazing,’ explains the A-list hairstylist Sam Mcknight. ‘She’s a truly lovely girl who knows the business inside out and who works very hard. She’s also such fun – we’re always messing around and taking silly selfies. She has it all.’
As for Bella, Sam is just as enthralled. ‘She dazzles. Like her sister, she works hard – she puts in the hours, she’s a collaborator and she makes work a pleasure. When both girls are on-set or backstage they are professional, they are always friendly and ready to do whatever it takes to get the image.’
So, after countless campaigns, dozens of magazine covers and a host of awards, what can the next 12 months possibly hold for the all-conquering sisters?
‘We just want to stay happy and healthy,’ says Bella. ‘If I can make sure I’m happy in my personal life as well as my work life, then 2017 will be great.’
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