Previously, I’ve given 9-year-old Willow Smith a pass. As the daughter of Jada Pinkett and Will Smith, I thought that Willow was developing her own brand of mini-Gaga-esque hardcore fashion statements, and I disliked how everyone was in a rush to bash her for A) being a kid and experimenting with clothes and B) Not looking like every other little pretty princess girl out there. Willow rocked her style and I thought she was badass, all on her own. Not so much… Us Weekly has an interview with Willow’s stylist. Yes. A 9-year-old has a stylist. Who does she think she is, Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon? Not only have The Smiths hired a stylist for Willow (she shares the guy with her big brother Jaden), but the stylist has “customized hundreds of pieces” for her. Um… seriously?
Willow Smith, 9, isn’t just Hollywood royalty and a budding actress…she’s a fashion icon in the making! Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s daughter has been making her mark recently on red carpets and fashion shoots with out-there hairstyles and wardrobe choices that recall Rihanna and other rule-breaking celebs.
“She is young, edgy, and individual,” the little girl’s stylist, Rob Zangardi, tells UsMagazine.com.
Zangardi says he and Mariel Haenn have customized “hundreds of pieces” for Willow and older brother Jaden. And despite her tender age, Willow is “very” involved in picking out her ensembles, Zangardi says.
“We start off the design process sitting down with her and talking about what we wanted to make,” he explains, using magazines and other “creative references” for inspiration.
At the L.A. premiere of Jaden’s The Karate Kid, Willow wore a leopard pony hair jacket and a leopard pants (“during the fitting it just kind of came together,” the stylist says) — and toted a pricey Givenchy bag.
But Willow’s not into designer labels, Zangardi explains. “It wasn’t about the fact that it was a Givenchy bag; it was about the fact that it has gold spikes and star studs on it.”
Willow’s young age, he says, “allows her to have a little bit more fun and take more risks than an adult could. We just made her a 3-finger ring in diamond and gold.”
Any inspiration from her mother Jada, 38? “She’s got her mom’s rock and roll sensibilities,” he says. “The skulls and some of those pieces that Jada likes–like leather motorcycle jackets.”
[From Us Weekly]
She’s nine years old. Let her wear something from Gap Kids. She’ll outgrow it in less than a year anyway. Am I overreacting? I don’t think I am, honestly. I’m all for parents encouraging a kid’s interests, whether it’s football or dolls or math or fashion. BUT there are ways to encourage a nine-year-old’s interest in fashion without hiring a stylist to customize “hundreds of pieces”. Ugh. If she has a stylist at the age of nine, what will she have when she’s 16 years old? When she’s 21 years old? I can’t even.
Header: Willow at a photo shoot in Paris on July 25, 2010. Credit: Bauer-Griffin. Also: Willow on July 19, 21, 25, 2010. Credit: WENN.
Oy vey. Talk about creating a monster.
Wow. Just… I do like the style, but getting a stylist for a 9yo? Way to ensure your kid grows into a brat!
I really don’t think a 9 year old child should be dressing like this. This level of ‘customised’ fashion is not something that a 9 year old can comprehend. I really really think it’s dangerous with the increasing number of children younger and younger behaving like adults. It’s wrong.
Not surprised to hear she has a stylist. Her looks were so contrived and calculated that you just knew she wasn’t just throwing things together herself.
She and Jaden are going to be so over-exposed by the time they become teenagers. Ugh.
Will and Jada, how about you let your kids be kids and stop trying to turn them into miniatures of yourselves?
“Will and Jada, how about you let your kids be kids and stop trying to turn them into miniatures of yourselves?”
The article seemed to show that this was something Willow had a penchant for, and they just gave her the ability to run with it. It didn’t appear that they are stuffing this down her throat. It’s shocking to me, making the money I make, that people would spend this way on a kid, but really I don’t know that I would do any different if I had billions pouring out of my butt. And my guess is a lot of people sling mud about this stuff because they don’t have the money and just need to feel morally superior to those that do by saying “well, if that were ME, I’d be giving it all to dog shelters and homeless people!” You live once, make the most of it and have some fun – that’s what these kids seem to have the opportunity to do and I say have a ball!
@Megan – Not trying to be inciteful – I really don’t understand this statement: This level of ‘customised’ fashion is not something that a 9 year old can comprehend.
What’s there to comprehend? It’s fashion, she likes it, she has someone to help her play with it. Albeit in a very expensive way, but it’s still just clothes. And don’t dismiss the comprehension of a 9 year old offhand. Dakota Fanning gave an Oscar nominating performance when she was SIX years old.
Ugh, there went my image of the Smiths as decent parents…
She looks ridiculous! She’s such a pretty girl, her hair is more terrible than her clothes. I wonder if she’s dressing like that (aka her stylist is dressing her like that) to get noticed….
Jeez and I feel guilty if I let my kids get a toy every time we go to Target.
Spoiled Rotten!
I must be the only one who thought “customized pieces” meant she had a closet full of custom wigs. hahaha!
We can debate all we want about the wisdom of a child having a stylist. But look at those pictures – the stylist is doing a crummy job. A dog picking out clothes in the dark could do just as well.
My tween would love to have a stylist customizing and helping to pick her outfits, she doesn’t enjoy my picks from lands end, the gap, target, macy etc…
In a country where people say we love our capitalist system, we are having national discussions about whether President Obama is a socialist we are really going to judge how people who earn money are spending it?
I wish I could have a stylist for my child who has great intrest in fashion, I wish I could take her on safari, the beautiful islands in the Indian ocaean and patagonia, but I can’t at this time. But I certainly wouldn’t begrudge others that can afford these things.
Her parents are rich and like to spoil those kids so i am not surprised.
The problem i have is more of an attitude one based on the urge she seems to have to get noticed no matter what…and maybe using clothes and image to pose in front of the camera at every occasion won’t be necessary
This little girl, contrary to his brother is not the celeb one, she is neither an actress, a singer or a model… she shouldn’t even get that amount of attention compared to her father and brother.
The problem i have is more of the attitude she has or that her parents let her have…like she doesn’t want to be held back and act like she is the celeb one.
That shows that in somewhay she may suffered the syndrom of the least talented sibling who doesn’t want to live in the shadow of her famous sibling and uses her parentage to make that point.
That for me and the fact that the parents doesn’t deal with it properly shows that she may have precociously some issues, doing everything to get some starlike attention when she is not the star. It’s an attitude a la paris Hilton and other reality shows celebs but as she is 9 years old her tools are innoffensive so far but in 5 years from now, it can worsen if Jaden becomes more ad more starified and she is held back.
Her parents need to show her that she is as important as her brother and hopefully she won’t need to get that amount of attention from the camera and won’t dressed to be pictured but for herself.
@nycmom1002 – I applaud you! I think people picking on a nine year old for having the benefit of money and having fun with fashion says far more about the commenter than the child!!!!
This family has always seemed manufactured to me — “Made in Hollywood” — and the recent press photos only reinforce my suspicion. A child should not have mastered the step-and-repeat pose.
They’re trying too hard with their “Look at how cool, hip and stylish we are” attitudes. (I think it’s Jada. Will seems to be going along for the ride.)
She looks like a tacky kid, dressed in ridiculous clothes.
Thanks Pookie. Poster #13 Sorry my computer is crunch names.
Willow is an actress.
She was in the Kit Kitteredge American Girl Movie and a couple of Tru Jackson episodes on Nick. I think she has done some other work as well but those are the two I know since I saw them with my tween.
Your points are interesting but this little girl has actually been working, so they may not apply to her.
@nnn
Have you ever heard of a film called “The Legend of Narnia”, Willow was in that film, so in fact she became an actress before her brother.
also, how would you like if when you take your kid to the Supermarket random foolish people make comments on your child looks and clothes?
Put yourself in that position before typing a word, because even now people might be looking at you and laughing behind your back…is that right?
Oy. Those two children are so over-stylized, its ridiculous.
@nnn: I couldn’t say it better.
I’m not criticizing the child for behaving as a child would.
I’m questioning the parents for them treating her like a miniature adult.
I can appreciate that she’s not wearing inappropriate clothing like the Cyrus’ girls, but she seems to expend so much energy garnering attention from the public since her brother has picked up more acting roles.
@ hanh
right! vicki beckham’s kids aren’t even like that.
just when she warmed us with “look daddy…butterflies” in ‘i am legend’ she’s now jumped the shark to borderline obnoxious. ew.
btw – my 16 year old rocks a similar look like in the last pic with the crazy leggings & chuck taylors.
her big time stylist: forever 21 (in-the-mall)
get a grip.
*eyeroll*
And she is in front of a lot of cameras because 1. cameras are going to follow that girl everywhere she goes 2. her parents are huge freakin mega-celebrities 3. she probably attends a lot of events and IS working in the industry, so it kind of goes with the territory.
Gosh.
She’s a wealthy child with famous parents..Their lives are FAR different than ours. So what if she has a stylist? It’s age-appropriate in that she’s covered up and it’s relativly conservative (compared with Noah Cyrus). I’d sooner see kids with stylists that are at least COVERED.
@Pookie..My thoughts exactly! She’s playing with fashion and obviously having a good time!
There is alot of premature judgement here (as there is always is with celebs). Perhaps customized fashion pieces are gifts for special occasions? Or it’s how she and her brother (I believe the article said she shared her stylist with Jaden) “spend” their money after they film a movie?
We really don’t know anything about these people and we’re judging rather harshly.
what the heck ever happened to will’s first kid – trey ?
Some of the fashion is over the top and so is the hair. I think she is way too young for these looks. She is cute in the face, and would look much better in an age appropriate style. These looks take away from her beauty. Will and Jada are not raising these kids right. I mean who the heck needs a stylist for their child? These Hollywood types get on my nerves.
How could you take one look at the way this kid dresses and not realize she had a stylist? Her clothes scream “stylist”. It’s unfortunate because obviously there’s an agenda there– shaping a child’s image (for a future career, I assume) before the child is old enough to even have an identity of her own.
When you think of successful celebrity children who have made the transition to successful and grounded adult celebrities (it’s hard to name some, I know), a common denominator seems to be that their parents protected them, allowed them to try to have a somewhat normal childhood or to experience some of the normalcies of growing up. I’m thinking of actresses like Natalie Portman(went to college) and Dakota Fanning (went to a regular high school, was a cheerleader, etc.). Dakota is still young though, so who knows. But, she seems on track to having a successful career. Clare Danes is in the category, too. Leonardo DiCaprio was a child actor, but I don’t know enough about his upbringing to be able to make the claim for him, although you can certainly say he is successful as an adult (you can say that he has usually avoided the typical “red carpet” scene). Now, these young adult actors also had substantial talent working in their favor- I am not certain if Willow does or doesn’t. I don’t know anything about her except her wardrobe and red carpet posing skills.
I’m really not certain that employing a stylist for a 9 year old, and having her “rock the red carpet” is really going to do anything for her in the long run. Turn her into self-indulgent, self-centered, pampered adult? Maybe. Time will tell, I suppose. Money can’t buy ya everything, including a career for your children.
kismet-
As far as I know, they are trying to turn Trey into a football player (some interview I ready).
Is every celebrity going to shove their spawn down our throats? Is the next batch of ‘stars’ just going to be a bunch of celebukids? I may have to quit going to the movies.
She looks like a nightmare. 9 yo’s dont know how to dress themselves well and it looks like her stylist is just doing as he’s told. Nothing about these outfits are fashionable and someday she’s going to be very embarassed by them and the fact that her parents let her dress like this. Gross.
if the child has a stylist for red carpet occasions, but is encouraged to explore clothing possibilites on her own for every day that’s not too outrageous. that is if her parents encourage other interests as well, not allowing her to become an empty-headed, clothes-are-the-only-reason-for-life-paris-hilton type. Even the princes of England do charity work and rub elbows with the masses.
None of the Smiths can be described as “spontaneous”.
if this was a lohan or a kardashian i dont think many would be defending the child, would they? the children want to act and be in the spotlight…you can argue that the smith’s are well respected, but both ultimately want to the end result—fame (whether the children or parents want it).
smug faced kids, ugh!
IMO big difference even between Lohan’s and Kardashian’s. It has unfortunately become part of the Lohan story that her paarents allowed her to spend the night with her boyfriends. Her parents abdicated their careers to focus on Lindsey who was very talented at the time.
The mama Kardasian and Bruce Jenner have careers. The Smiths seems to have pretty well established careers, I don’t think they need to live through their kids. So their choices my different then the general population.
But I ask again, if we are a proud capitalist country why can’t we be free to spend our money in any legal way we choose? Why can’t our crazy fashion choice happen in our youth?
if my kids ears looked like hers I would hire a stylist too. anything to to distract from that, but then again, maybe I would just save the money for the sucky stylist and put it in her plastic surgery fund. u can hate me all u want for this post, but it’s the truth.
#20JustBe
I put myself in her shoes and that is precisely why i speculate on a gossip blog aimed at that exercise about how this kid must feel and why she seems to have the urge to put herself in a position where she is trying to compete more than she should against her brother.
Why she acts like she wants to get more attention that she should exploiting the punctual limelight that is originally generated by her brother and for her brother.
Based on those observation i have concluded that she doesn’t want to be held back and be perceived as the least successful one. Hence her parents should make sure that she feels as equal as her brother because if not, at some point, later she may feels the urge to do other things less inoffensive to get that attention.
I don’t think that my previous post was a critic against her, more about the motivation i beleive is hidden behind her attitude and a hint on how her parents (if i am right since we all go by assumptions) should deal with that to make sure she doesn’t feel inferior to her brother.
so suri can have a million dollar wardrobe but a 9 year old cant have a stylist in hollywierd grow up people they have money to burn thay can do what the fuck they want with it….
Yeah I’m kind of disappointed too.
It’s really not about criticizing a 9 year old. It’s about the parents. Is it healthy for a 9 year old to have a stylist? Probably not. It is probably too much too soon. This certainly isn’t her fault.
Sure her parents can spend their money however they want. Doesn’t mean people need to cheer them on. Live your life in the spotlight, bring your children into the spotlight, and you inevitably open your family up to a lot of criticism. People here always criticize Suri. She’s 4. She’s not making the choices…
my god, those kids are going to be insufferable when they are older.
@Team Bethenny:
What does step-and-repeat pose mean? I’m not being sarcastic, I just don’t really know anything about fashion, red carpets, modelling type stuff, so I’ve never heard the phrase before. I think I sort of have an idea, but I just thought I’d ask the source to be certain.
I’m just laughing because some of you don’t think of the Smiths as contrived. They appear to plan everything about their lives in minute detail. That said, those are their kids, their money, and if they want to look like assholes, that is totally their right. Maybe they will convince this poor child toward ear pinning. It’s an extremely easy surgery, and only requires a few stitches.
She would probably love her new look.
These poor kids never stood a chance. Hopefully they have (or will have) a good therapist?
Hey, she’s Jada & Wills’ kid. Figures.
Well duh! Kids aren’t actually that concerned with fashion until someone programs them to feel as though they should be.
Nice parenting! Just what the world needs.
Oh man (sigh) it’s hard to decide on this one. I mean, why can’t they just have one stylist for the whole family? lol However, if I had that kind of money, I might be wanting to spoil my kids too. Not sure how, but I would be spoiling them as well. I mean, I’m not a wealthy person now and I spoil them as best as I can. I want them to have better things than I had when I was a child, but I also want to teach them it’s okay to have nice things and second hand things. I like to treat my kids the same and get make sure it’s fair and even what I get them. I try my best to teach them to be good and well mannered kids, and be to safe. I like some of Willow’s styles, but not every single outfit she has put on, but that’s not her fault, maybe her stylist. She IS a really cute and pretty little girl. Good thing she’s covered up, even if she wants to be “punk” or whatever her style is, I do like her sneakers. I just hope she doesn’t grow up to dress like Miley or Taylor.
Those Chuck Taylor’s in the bottom photo make her look like she has Paris Hilton’s feet.
I’m just excited to see someone in Hollywood under the age of 24 actually wearing clothing.
I dress like she does. I like it.
I don’t like that she’s nine and has a stylist, but at least they’re involving her in the process of dressing herself, so she can not be a complete disaster if her acting career doesn’t pan out.
Also, AT LEAST SHE’S WEARING CLOTHES. Her shorts in the first picture are NICE AND LONG. THANK YOU. Keep up the age-appropriate funkiness, plz.
Another example of wretched excess in Hollywood. The sadest part is that her parents really don’t think there is anything wrong with this. How can a kid really experiment with who they are when their parents are hiring someone to make sure that the kid doesn’t turn out to be an embarassment by, (oh my goodness!) picking out their own clothes all by themselves….
I like her style. She’s a cutie. I just hope she’s being kept grounded. It doesn’t look that way from the outside but I trust Will and Jada as parents so I’m not too worried. I remember during the I Am Legend press tour that she expressed desires to be a superstar. Not everyone is an introvert. Maybe she wants to be a superstar and why shouldn’t her parents try for it as long as they protect the child first. I don’t see anything wrong. Will was a child star. He knows the pitfalls.
It’s way too much for a 9YO! the lil one has good looks…..in another 4-5yrs she’ll rock H’wood am sure..if she goes at this rate!
I love willow smith.
She’s a little fashionista, a lil natural, some kids got that vibe for threads some don’t but its all good. XOX mom of 3 kids- two unfashionable ones, one who likes clothes!