Hailey Bieber has experienced her share of challenges this year, including a serious health scare – but the model, style star and beauty entrepreneur is ready to take on the world
HAILEY BIEBER IS ONE OF THE BEST-DRESSED
women alive, in part because she’s so willing to mess up. ‘I look back on things that I’ve worn and I literally am so embarrassed. I’m like, “What was I thinking? That was such a miss,”’ she tells me from Idaho, where she and her pop-superstar husband Justin Bieber have disappeared for a short holiday. It’s a surprising confession for someone who exudes such confidence, whether she’s going to the gym or an Oscars party, and whose style is so obsessively chronicled. Embarrassment, though, is different from regret. ‘I’m never afraid to try anything. I think that just goes to show that there’s a moving evolution [in my style]. It just keeps growing – which is kind of how I want to be in all areas of life.’
Bieber, who is 25, describes herself as ‘a very regimented and routine person’. She grew up in Hollywood, the daughter of the actor Stephen Baldwin and the Brazilian-born graphic designer Kennya Baldwin, and trained as a ballerina. Yet part of what makes her so successful is her ability to deal with change. In the past year, she went through a personal health trauma, experiencing a stroke-like episode from a blood clot in March. Then, in June, Justin was diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome and experienced facial paralysis, which led him to postpone the rest of his 2022 tour in the US. That same month, Bieber launched a skincare line, Rhode (her middle name), which had been in the works for more than two years and is already winning the admiration of discerning beauty lovers.
Her vision of marriage is progressive. Many people in their twenties and thirties see matrimony as something one does once life has reached stability, but Bieber, who wed at 21, sees it as only the beginning: you don’t figure things out and get married, but rather get married and figure things out. ‘I just think life is changing all the time,’ she says. ‘Day to day, week to week, year to year. I think a perfect example of that is over the last six months – both of us have gone through very serious health issues. You have to figure out how to deal with this shit as it comes, you know? There’s a reason they say “for better or for worse”.’
That same approach seems to apply to the way she dresses. She says her style ‘evolves every couple of months’, but is defined by both her meticulousness and her willingness to take chances. Her hair, nails and skin are always impeccably pared-down, which creates a restrained elegance around even the most thrown-together look. She also actively seeks out new designers, often years before they appear on the celebrity radar. She is a muse for ERL, the brand founded by Eli Russell Linnetz, and was an early fan of Martine Rose, whose name has been floated as a potential successor to Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton. (Abloh famously designed Bieber’s wedding dress.)
Yet Bieber is a street-style individualist. She looks fabulous in the usual influencer uniforms, such as greige suits and the aprèsgym ensemble of T-shirts, bike shorts and trainers. But she also wears things steeped in self-possession: a sheer white Coperni lace dress with funky rosettes or a pair of weird jeans by Eytys.
Though Bieber’s outfits are contemporary, her approach is old-school. She dreams up different ‘vibes’ (to use her favourite word) for trips and events, whether a holiday in the Northwest or a friend’s wedding. Her process recalls that of Princess Diana, to whom Bieber paid tribute in a magazine shoot in 2019 and who also made carefully considered fashion choices with ease. ‘I was inspired by the fact she was the most-looked-at woman in the world at that time, of all time, and she did what she wanted with her style,’ Bieber says. ‘She really expressed herself through her clothes, despite being in the position she was in.’
Princess Diana’s status as a paparazzi target also resonates with Bieber. She admits that getting dressed sometimes makes her feel anxious, in spite of how much she loves it: ‘I get photographed so much that I feel like I put pressure on myself.’ In part, it’s her own perfectionism. ‘Even if I’m just throwing on jeans and a T-shirt, I want it to be a dope pair of jeans and a great T-shirt!’
Bieber always puts in the effort – in fashion and romance. The day we speak marks four years since she and Justin got engaged. ‘He’s still the person I want to be rushing back to,’ Bieber says. ‘I might fly somewhere and do a job, but I can’t wait to come back and hang out. I feel like that’s because of the effort that’s been put in on both sides. At the end of the day, he’s my best friend, but it does take a lot of work to make it work. And I know eventually, when kids come in the picture, that’s going to be a whole other season of navigating how to make that work.’
Whatever comes, she’ll have the right attitude – and look – to take it on.
‘I’m never afraid to try anything… Which is kind of how I want to be in all areas of life’
HAILEY BIEBER
MODEL AND BEAUTY ENTREPRENEUR, 25
‘I want to open doors for young women everywhere, to push the boundaries of what art is considered to be and who gets to be in art spaces’
QUALEASHA WOOD
ARTIST, 25
‘I don’t think anyone ever really feels like they’ve made it. I don’t think that ever happens. It definitely hasn’t happened for me’
EMMA CHAMBERLAIN
YOUTUBER AND PODCAST HOST, 21