Can I say something slightly controversial? I really don’t mind Gigi Hadid as a model. I think she has an interesting “look” that is not really high-fashion/editorial, but is very pretty nonetheless. There’s something vaguely “Blake Lively” about Gigi’s appeal, meaning that she’s a smiley, blonde non-waif who has a slightly downmarket vibe, but she should be able to build a solid modeling career for herself. Anyway, Gigi covers the January issue of Vogue UK. This is her seventh international Vogue cover overall – she’s yet to cover American Vogue, but I’m sure that will happen for her in the next year.
On her social media fame: “I don’t change anything about myself—what I post just works. When people are different on social media than they are in real life, it becomes forced. Cara Delevingne was never scared of being weird. She opened that door for me. But I don’t think I just get hired because I have Instagram followers. My jobs are also what gets me followers.”
Being criticized for her body: “Yeah, I’m an athletic person. But I love my body because I know what it’s been through to be what it is, and honestly I’m not going to change for someone that is depressed about their life. The Victoria’s Secret Angels aren’t going anywhere; I’m not going anywhere; plus-sized models aren’t going anywhere.”
Her friendship with Kendall Jenner: “Kendall’s more guarded. I’m more feisty. I don’t want to say outgoing, because she is really outgoing once you get to know her. And when we’re both having fun, she makes me a lot more spontaneous. It’s a good balance. But neither of us likes to stay out past 11.”
I get a little bit tired of stereotypically beautiful women complaining about how they’re not being accepted by society. I’m not saying Gigi is doing that, but she was reacting to a question about what it feels like to be “bullied” for her body. It’s insane. She’s blonde, long-legged, slender, big-busted, pillow-lipped and by every single metric, she’s pretty. Why do we have to pretend that she struggles too, or that the body-criticism she gets is somehow equal to the criticism Melissa McCarthy gets, you know? Now, all that being said, Gigi gets some points for how she shrugged off that question.
Photos courtesy of Vogue UK.
She seems like a decent enough model and a lovely girl. It is nice to see models on the cover of Vogue than, say, Kim K, so I don’t begrudge her multiple covers in a short period of time.
Eh, i’d rather see non-models on the cover. Maybe not Kim K, but people who are something more that just pretty. I’m glad that the supermodel era is over.
I hear you, I don’t mind the occasional non model but at its heart Vogue is supposed to be a fashion mag. Seeing Gigi on the cover reminds me of the era when it was more about the fashions than about the personalities or the celebrity. But I was a fan of Seventeen and later Mademoiselle, Glamor and Vogue in the 80s when the models were the stars.
I’m fine with models in fashion editorials, but if there’s an interview I’d rather hear form someone more interesting.
but the celebrities they pick for covers are even more insipid and bland than any model – I mean, Jessica Biel? Kate Bosworth? Blake Lively? What do any of them have to say that isn’t trite and hackneyed?
I mean, even Linda Evangelista gave us the ‘I don’t get out of bed for less than ten thousand dollars’ line, no starlet today would dare because they have to be as bland as possible for optimum public consumption. Give me her or Gisele on a cover any day – at least they show personality!
@Esmom
Yeah, but Vogue. (US and UK in particular) has shifted into a more lifestyle territory as of late. Gigi was in the cover more as a celeb and fashion girl than a model.
I agree, though. This is a fashion mag. We’re meant to look at the clothes.
I think when you hear her speak she comes off better, at first I didn’t like her but I was surprised by how low and tomboy-ish her voice is, she comes off more down to earth and serious in video interviews.
And LOL Blake lively is too obviously intentionally witty… that Vogue Q&A with her “73 Questions with Blake Lively” is the worst
She’s not considered plus size, is she??
I don’t think that’s what she meant but I’m slightly puzzled by her entire answer as well. What is she being criticized for? Being athletic? I would say she’s very very slender. Athletic seems to be the new euphemism for “not terribly underweight”. Athletes are athletic. She’s a model who works out, she doesn’t look like an athlete at all.
I don’t mind her but I’m not that invested in the fashion world anyway. At least not in this new crop of Instagram Models. It’s a trend, it’s what fashion is to most people. Trendy.
I vaguely remember some criticism from social media users for her being fat or something, and I was confused.
Oy, criticism from social media users cannot ever be taken seriously. I can’t read Instagram comments because my IQ immediately drops a good few points. Not to generalize but … yeah, that’s pretty much my experience. Why would VOGUE even bring that up?
This may not be what she means, but years ago a higher end boutique owner in our town sniffed that some of our female models for a high school fashion show were ‘athletic’ (myself included). Keep in mind we were just average teenagers doing the show to raise money.
How the owner said ‘athletic’ to us was not complimentary, yet not one of us was overweight. Some of us were broad shouldered, relatively busty, etc. I shrugged it off, thinking she just wanted more straight-line figures to show off her expensive clothes.
Actually she has been criticised a lot for her body by people in the industry and by people online. Because the model trend in recent years has been “emaciated stick”, she has been heavily criticised for being “fat”, for not being a “real” model, etc. It is insane. Her body is incredible and I for one I’m thrilled that she and some of these other models are rising because they are slightly bigger and they do have boobs and bums (small but existent) and maybe they can lead the modelling world back to a healthier trend. Many of the models who do European seasons come back completely emaciated and are pressured to slim down from their already tiny bodies. It is horrendous. Girls like Gigi gives me hope this can change. Plus she is actually biracial and I think she’s just gorgeous. Supposedly she is smart too.
Also, I think she was a very good Volleyball player, like, right up there. She has damaged knees from it. She was also a competitive equestrian. She does a lot of exercise now too including boxing. So she is actually athletic, just a very slim athletic body.
Gigi self-identifies as athletic because she has always played sports. She competitively played volleyball and rode horses and I believe she is a runner as well. So athletic as a lifestyle, not just a body type.
I think she’s the perfect VS model, swimsuit model, drugstore cosmetics model etc. but not high fashion.
Her sister Bella is beautiful and has a look much better suited to editorial work.
I was just about to say that, she is stunning and perfect for VS, but she’s not a hf model. Her sister has a much more interesting look. Although sister is 18 and aleeady had a nose job, whis is slightly sad.
However, a model from a poor background would never get to say “I love my body and won’t change it”. She would either lose weigjt or not work. Gigi’š connections allowed her to say that.
I don’t know, to me Bella looks like an attractive girl who got a nose job. It’s like I can’t unsee her nose, for some reason. I read that she got the nose job when she was 15; maybe she should have waited a couple of years so that she would have her more adult face, and then gotten the procedure done.
I don’t even know if that makes any sense, lol.
I agree Minx, I don’t think Bella is prettier than GiGi, she kind of reminds me of a younger Carla Bruni.
I agree with Kaiser and I think GiGi is adorable. But, beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.
Yeah she has an unusual face, but not high fashion unusual.
This is almost exactly what was said about Kate Upton when she first showed up, so maybe things really are changing and there is more room for these girls.
I buy her as a model. Some of the other “It” models though…
I find her gorgeous! Not downmarket at all, she can be a true modeling star if she puts a bit of effort into it and reach both high end brands and popular downmarket ones.
I was really pleased by her appearance on the victoria secret show, she reminds me of the old school stars of this show (while most models o it are now so bland)
Bella had a nose surgery, whereas Gigi is naturally beautiful. Seriously, check Bella’s older photos. She was pretty, but totally average. I find it disturbing that she felt the pressure to be like her sister, instead of just not giving a f* about her nose and pursuing a different career. I’m just not buying Bella as a model.
I know. To me Bella has the much more interesting look, pre and post surgery. Gigi’s just really cute.
That’s interesting, Kasia – I think the exact opposite.
Gigi seems so vanilla and mall girl-esque. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but 7 Vogue covers to a girl I’d struggle to pick out of a line-up? I guess that’s nepotism for you.
Bella, in my opinion, is far more striking than Gigi. I can’t believe she’s only 19, though.
Kasia: nose and lips.
@Kasia: I never mentioned Bella so where this comes from?
Sorry, I wanted to reply to another comment and I posted this under your comment by mistake.
Gigi is an attractive woman, but like the other models of today she is missing that “it factor” I still remember the models of the 90’s and even earlier. They seemed to just own the catwalk and when they were on a magazine cover they immediately got your attention. Each was unique in their own way. The models today, with very few exceptions seem very similar to each other.
You know I don’t buy the idea that the women of the 90’s had more “it” than the girls of today. Not for me, anyway. I think the 90’s glamazons were hyped up by a media environment that was much more “exclusive” than it is now. Now we’re so saturated with social media impressions that the mystique is gone from celebrity. I get that there’s a difference, but I think it’s less about the charisma of the girls themselves and more about how the media environment shapes our image of them. . . Just my two cents.
I think the’90s models benefited from the George Michael “Freedom” video. I do think the models in that video are prettier than the models of today, but, yeah, I think the media environment did help them.
I wonder if Naomi Campbell could become a model today, however. There’s no one out there right now who has her look (or maybe she’s out there and doesn’t get as much exposure through the media).
It was also a different aesthetic, the women had a much more mature look. Cute didn’t cut it. And the photographers were … not Terry Richardson et al. Still, I believe if you put Christy Turlington, Tatiana Patiz, Gigi Hadid and Karlie Kloss (or, at this point any VS angel) in one frame, the first two will obliterate them (then and now).
I think if it would be high fashion editorial Tatjana and Karlie would stand out. Tatjana is so striking, and Karlie is a chameleon. Gigi is cute and I never understood the fuss about Turlington. She’s so boring looking.
Of course celebrities’ images benefit from media hype, but you can’t fake striking beauty and the it-factor. Nobody looks like Linda Evangelista or Naomi Campbell. Plenty of people look like Amber Valetta. All the models nowadays are Amber Valettas if you catch my drift.
@littlemissnaughty – I think you’re exactly right. The models today generally look so young and less distinctive compared to the 90s models. They’re pretty but not as stunning.
I agree, it was all hype.
I agree with you. I think the “IT” factor was the fact that 90’s models actually motivated you to pick up the magazine and buy it or take a second look at what they were selling. I’m not going to pick up the magazine because Gigi is on it, I’m picking it up because I already like the magazine. Those covers were great, and while I think Gigi is gorgeous, her image will never motivate me to check out anything I don’t already like.
Speaking of 90’s and 80’s models, I think Gigi Hadid looks a lot like Israeli model Michaela Bercu. And apparently others have noticed that too, see: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2736242/Gigi-Hadid-takes-trip-1980s-pays-homage-Anna-Wintour-s-Vogue-cover.html
I think Gigi is very pretty and striking, but in my opinion Micaela was even more beautiful, more radiant, maybe because of her natural blush and her bright blue eyes.
Calcifer
Thank you!!! Thank you for sharing this link. I totally still have those pictures from when I was very young and had them on my wall. No wonder I love Gigi. She gives me major 80s girl. Yes love this throwback.
Wow, I don’t remember that model, but there is definitely a similarity there..
Exactly, the 90s supermodels were mostly statuesque, untouchable, etc. They all had insane bone structure in some way, like some genetic experiment. Now it’s the everyday stars with celebrity connections who get noticed. I have to admit Cara, as annoying and stupid as she is as a person, has a unique look though, even though she’s also the spawn of Instagram.
I think a lot of the mystique of the 90’s models was due to the fact that many weren’t instant/overnight successes – a lot of them worked for years to develop top-notch modeling skills before they were tagged with the “supermodel” label. Endless rounds of mail-order catalog jobs, go-sees, obscure magazine editorials in Asia, runway work, etc – all of that experience gave them a kind of effortless chemistry with the camera or an honest-to-God unique runway presence that the insta-models of today just don’t have.
The modeling world is so different than it was back in the supermodel era. These days it feels like this new crop of celebrity models don’t do much more than stand in front of the camera and hope they look pretty. I kind of miss the old days. That said, I think Gigi has done a lot to improve as a model and takes her work seriously so I wish her more success.
She’s a model, so sure.
Gigi, not Kendall, will have longevity in the modeling world.
I don’t care what anyone says, you have to have some kind of personality to keep people interested.
For this generation Gigi has that “personality”
In the 90s she’d be in a Pennys Ad in the Sunday paper…..just sayin.
Penney’s teen/juniors model — absolutely! That’s what her look reminds me of.
Of course, I grew up knowing Lori Loughlin’s face from a Penney’s catalog.
That’s pretty spot-on. She’s not nearly as bland-looking as Blake Lively (her face is slightly – SLIGHTLY! – more distinctive than the average LA blonde with nosejob) but yeah, she’s quite mass-market and can look wholesome as well as a little enigmatic. She’s not a great model, but she’s got way more going on behind the eyes than Kendall Jenner ever did. I suspect that’s why she’ll last longer.
Gigi is currently perfect for clients targeting the teen market. My 14-year old daughter thinks she is really pretty and likes her because she’s not skinny like the others.
Gigi may not be modelling in 5 years time…right now she’s the “universal cute blonde” with a versatile commercial look that has broad teen appeal. That’s why she currently gets a lot of work.
I have no idea who the Hadids are and I find this chick bland. When I see her I think standard operating procedure catalog/teen brand model with nothing special looks or charisma-wise to really jump out and captivate you. She sounded reasonably intelligent in the interview, I’ll give her that.
Since she’s been a VS model she lost so much weight. You can see pictures of her on the runway 2 months ago and then lately on the VS runway. So I guess body critisism did get to her and she’s a lot less curvier than she used to be. I prefered her better before. She had a truly amazing feminine body. Now she’s just thin and tall !
I don’t know about the modeling world, but maybe there’s a contractual obligation for her to stay at a certain weight for VS. . . it might not be criticism that got to her.
Her mother also instilled in her to restrict, and have a very very strict diet. She likes to eat but her mom was always telling her if she wants to model she can’t.
And her mother would restrict everyones diet all their lives so they would never be fat.
So maybe she is athletic too, I dont know.
I saw her in an interview just a few days ago where she said she went on a diet for the VS show. Really stupid though. I mean doesn’t VS sell sizes bigger than a zero? So why can’t the models be bigger than a zero? The VS show is just for men to drool over. It’s disgusting. It’s also ironic since don’t most men prefer some curves? To hell with it all, women should be whatever size they want to be as long as they are healthy and happy.
overrated she is cute enough but probably wouldn’t look twice if I ran into her on the street
Yeah completely and totally overrated. I will never get her appeal, ever.
it’s called money.
so, can you buy Vogue covers? cause I’m starting to think yeah.
@Kitten – Same here. Never will.
She’s as insipid as the ‘maligned’ Kendall Jener, yet select online fashion connoisseurs will twist themselves trying to claim how Hadid’s not trite, cause she’s their fave.
Predictable.
The current models are just blank looking….They elicit zero response from me. They are pretty, but in an almost banal way.
Having said that, I think Gigi is perfect for VS, and she does have a personality that comes through in pictures which is important….I definitely prefer her over Kendall.
I feel like Gigi’s success has two sides. Like she is really not as unhealthy looking as say Abbey Lee Kershaw. So it is good that she is atleast going high fashion. But then again could a normal person who does not have the nepotism edge get that far with her body? Never.
I think she’s very pretty, and fairly “normal” considering that her mother tried to relive her own modeling career through Gigi’s. I saw a few episodes of Real H of Beverly Hills when Yolanda went with Gigi to a shoot. Gigi was fairly young, so I thought it was good that she went, but I wanted to strangle Yolanda, off to the side, running on the set and “fixing” something, shouting advice, just being the typical stage mother, “big smile, honey, smile!” And her father is sort of a slimy skirt chaser, while her step-father was that big brat creeper David Foster. She certainly had the advantage of money, but also a lot of crazy melodrama and self-absorbed adults to deal with.
Ugh that sounds nightmarish. No wonder she and Kendall are so tight-they probably bond over their mutually overbearing, insufferable mothers.
Well those two pictures could have come from any Instagram “fashion blogger.” They’re. Just. So. Dull. They’re not bad, just boring. I know every fashion shoot can’t be high art or whatever but this isn’t good enough for Vogue. That first outfit looks like it came out of a Macy’s ad. And the Vogue T shirt in Vogue with the Vogue watermark is tacky and downmarket.
Very boring, I’m with you. Isn’t that par for the course with American Vogue, though. I always thought French Vogue was the one with energy . . .
Agreed. So meh.
I confess, the intensity of debate on Vogue covers is baffling to me.
‘frippery for some – life defining for others’. I guess
I’m am laughing remembering when that ‘Amide’ poster correctly called out how Hadid,Miller are stanned for with their anodyne Vogue covers, yet the so called “undeserving mallies” – Biel, Bosworth and the ever present Lively – are predictably blasted. LMAO
*Edit
Did a checkback – Amide you called it here gurl!
http://www.celebitchy.com/437893/sienna_miller_tom_sturridge_split_because_he_wanted_more_babies_she_didnt/#comments
@Jegede – I did. And almost to the letter!
Lively especially can’t stay out of her mind. Ha powah!LOL
She’s pretty. Not your cookie cutter model…..very exotic look………….
really? I think she looks pretty basic. Not generic model basic. Above average girl walking out of Starbucks basic. Overrated and only famous because of money/connections. I do however prefer her body over Kendulls any day.
Pretty in a popular way, but yes, a bit over-rated and nearly at the point of being over-exposed. However, as far as nepotism and big PR machines go in making “it” girls, her anointment doesn’t bother me too much.
Unlike Kendell, she has personality. Plus she is a cute girl and seems nice.
She bores me. Guess I’m alone another tall blond w big lips. I find someone like Adele or actress Jennifer Connolly or Keira kneitly even clauDia Schiffer back in the day more interesting and eye catching.
I would just page turn past her in Victorias secret or other media.
She’s definitely not ugly, but I don’t see how she’s much different from Kendall Jenner. She looks more like a Seventeen model and than a Vogue model to me.
I like her. Much better than Kendull.
I think Hadid is stunning. If memory serves me she’s been modeling her entire life. Nepotism? Of course. But she has what it takes. More than just looks like Jenner and the other nameless news. In the words in Samantha Jones ‘oh honey, you’re a model!’
I would rather see a different face each time I look at a cover. I know, different Vogue editions, and nothing against Gigi, she is pretty, but my God, can we get an Asian woman, and a black one, and a Native beauty instead of the. Same. Blond. Chick every time? Not only that, but how many brands is she representing now? Are all these execs really so un imaginative that they must use the same three, four girls for everything? Karlie, Gigi, Kendull, blah.
I know she is blonde but she is actually mixed raced, palestinian and dutch.
Really hope that coat is faux fur. I actually love it, but I don’t feel comfortable saying that definitively until I know whether it’s real or not.
Its way more believable than Kendall that this girl would have had a career regardless of connections. She hasn’t got an interesting haute couture look necessarily but in every generation of models there are some who are pretty in a more conventional perhaps less interesting way. I see her as a model in the Giselle, Heidi Klum, Claudia Schiffer mould.
I think Giselle, Heidi Klum, and Claudia Schiffer — despite being conventional looking — are more majestic than this girl.
I really don’t see how she’s much better than Kendall, who at least has the Ali McGraw resemblance to capitalize on.
“I think Giselle, Heidi Klum, and Claudia Schiffer — despite being conventional looking — are more majestic than this girl. ”
I agree. Even Heidi Klum was better as a model model. I don’t watch those runway shows so I’m sure other people can articulate it better than I can. But Gigi and Kendall seem very everyday in mag photo shoots. When I used to flick through Vogue etc, all the models seemed much more UNTOUCHABLE. Maybe that’s the appeal of these new social media models. You can see them in everyday contexts because they’re posting what they’re eating for breakfast and their “no makeup” selfies 24/7.
She’s very pretty. I wouldn’t say she’s like, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley beautiful but she has an interesting twist on the girl next door look. I think it’s something exotic in the eyebrows and jaw. I’m just glad she’s not like a size 00. She seems like she has a healthy body and that’s much more beautiful than the starving waif thing we had before.
I like her look. Plus she is from model stock as her mother was also on the runway. For some reason I don’t mind her & am totally ok. Full disclosure I also like Kendall’s look & think she is the best of that Klan which I know that isn’t saying much.
She is a beautiful young lady, so no, I don’t think she’s overrated, but I do think she’s becoming overexposed and “overused” for that particular magazine. Vogue would do well to have some other people on their covers – simply because Gigi on their cover has become predictable and boring.
can someone PLEASE tell me WHY blonde hair and blue eyes = pretty, cute, gorgeous ….
she just looks normal to me not some stunning venus goddess….
yes. she is just normal with rich parents, and with bloggers paid to write about her, every day apparently. not interesting at all actually.
I know many are not fans of Kendall, but I think she’s the better model overall between the two. Gigi is way overexposed.
Hahaha and you think Kendall isn’t overexposed?
Pretty?
Her best feature is youth.
I think she’s a doll! She looks like the average late teen early 20 girl. Cute as can be!
She is very pretty and exotic in some ways. I think she is very attractive and is a total model. Even runway. I don’t know how tall she is though. Very nice, healthy figure and a pretty, commercial face. I dig it.
Nepotism, absolutely but she is pretty and a bit exotic looking. Shes been modeling since she was a little girl. I think she was an exceptionally adorable little girl but even then i think they had connections to Marciano aka Guess. As far as her body goes, i think Victorias Secret is do-able but runway hell no. Her calfs look like sticks. Always annoyed me lol. But she does have a beautiful face. I like her Vogue Italia cover w the blue wig.
There will be a new “it” girl next year. How upset must PMK be that Gigi completely took over Kendall’s reign?
I totally thought that was Kate Hudson on the picture used with the caption. 😐
Yes, I can see that completely.
What does she mean when she talks about what her body has “been through”? She’s barely 20 and filthy rich, her body can’t have been through very much.
I don’t mind Gigi as a model, either. She’s pretty and seems nice enough. The cover is gorgeous, I have to say.
She’s pretty but doesn’t have the model flair. A good swimsuit model but compare her to Naomi Campbell or Linda Evangelista who just had that style or flair in front of the camera. Both Gigi and Kendall are challenging for those high fashion spreads. Instagram stars.
I think she is gorgeous and is truly a model. Why is this even a debate ?
She has a huge career already ! A stunning girl., I think.
I have no idea who she is
I think people are tired of the same look with every popular model. There’s nothing unique about her or Kendall. I sure don’t see where Kendall is deserving of the catwalk. Seems industry is making Fif the next Gisele. Her face is everywhere. Bella, I think, was pushed into it by her Mom when she got her DUI. Right after that, suddenly she was a model. I remember Yo pushing the starvation diet on Gigi when they were on housewives show
I think she is quite pretty in a very bland, cute, ordinary way: nothing about her is striking. She has the forgettable, interchangeable prettiness of a bubbly lead cheerleader, to me, more than the arresting, memorable beauty of a top model: nothing about me makes me want to keep looking at her face. She has very few expressions, but certainly more than Kendall Jenner, who is as about as expressive–and appealing–as her own wax replication would be. Neither got to where they are as a result of extraordinary beauty *or* hard work, which is annoying: it’s from nepotism that either are as successful as they are. I get tired of both–actually Kendall, to be fair–talking about how her name worked AGAINST her, and claiming that it has no link whatsoever to her catapulting, virtually overnight, into a “top model.” At least Gigi–from what little I’ve read of her–doesn’t pretend she didn’t get where she is without enormously powerful connections.