Three of the most It-Girly of It Girls cover the new issue of W Magazine. Willow Smith, 15, Zendaya, 19, and Kiernan Shipka, 16, all got profiled (separately) for W, but oddly, Zendaya’s profile is the shortest one. Like, I would have thought she would have had the most to say about life and fashion. While I love Kiernan, her profile is a snooze too. So that leaves us with Willow, our new ambassador for Chanel. At the end of the day, I actually get it. I get why Willow is an It Girl. I get why she’s a Cool Teenager. And I’m okay with it. In fact, I think she actually is stylish, cool and interesting. And considering how her parents raised her, I think Willow has turned out okay. Here are some highlights from Willow’s profile:
Her safety-pin-accented dreadlocks: “That was my idea. I was in my bathroom yesterday and saw some safety pins on the counter and was just like, ‘Let me stab a dread real quick.’ When I did it, I was, like, ‘Oh, this is dope.’ ”
Whether her parents tried to tame her style: “Only when I was 6 or 7. I wanted to wear things then that might have been too crazy. But now they know I set my own boundaries.”
How “Whip My Hair” came about: “I kept telling my parents that I wanted to sing, and they said, “Okay—we can get some writers and producers here if you want this to be real.” So they got all those people in a room, and I was talking, talking, talking about the things that I loved, and the writers came up with that song. It was a beautiful experience.”
Her bedroom posters: “I have John Lennon. I have a bunch of Hindu posters that are more like tapestries. And I have Tupac. He’s a tapestry, too.”
On Justin Bieber: “I love Justin. I love every single one of his songs.”
Her movie-star crushes: “Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux. They’re so beautiful in Blue Is the Warmest Color. I don’t really like the crude sexualness of the movie, but I like all the scenes that aren’t porn. My favorite love scene in a movie is in Avatar—when they’re at the tree of souls and they’re communing with Eywa.
She’s anti-3D: “3-D movies make my head hurt. I can’t watch them. I know, I know [that’s weird for my age]. I prefer regular film. And I prefer to be unusual.”
My parents were pretty laissez faire with what films I consumed, but I think even they would have had an issue with a 15-year-old watching Blue is the Warmest Color. It’s an odd choice for Will and Jada, who are definitely raising their kids to be Scientology-adjacent (at the very least) to be so “whatever” with a film that centers around a lesbian romance.
Also, is it crazy to love the safety-pins-in-dreads thing? It looks SO striking.
Photos courtesy of W Magazine.
Love it. I’ll have to take a peek at the magazine when I’m at the supermarket but I like the unusual and non-sexual styling of all three on the cover at least.
Willow is gorgeous and I like that she has a different level of style than what we’re used to seeing. No Tims and coffin nails.
I REALLY like that they dressed them like young women and not in overly skin-baring outfits. I don’t like that wig on Zendaya and the other one’s hair looks fried. Willow looks the most authentic.
It bugs me, though, how easy everything has been for her. Granted, I’d do the same for my kids, but children need to learn the value of something and these rich kids don’t.
I never thought safety pins could look so beautiful. In HAIR.
I’m digging this chick.
Her style is awesome, it’s refreshing. However, if her piercing is real, it’s pretty intense for a 15-year-old. You have to be 16 with a parent’s permission to get that done, if I’m correct. It’s a sweet piercing but IMHO too much for someone barely in high school.
I don’t think she’s gonna go to high school…
Don’t be weird just to be weird kid. Just be yourself and if that’s weird, fine. Weird people for weirdness sake are annoying.
I was totally weird for weirdness sake when I was a teen. I was just finding my way, knowing I wanted to be “different”. She’s just a kid. It’s OK.
She might do well in fashion design. She has an eye for it I think.
I was thinking that too. Willow is at least way more creative visually than Kanye.
Dear Self,
Please do not click on stories about this vapid spoiled child anymore. It just pisses you off.
Thank you,
Reason
Could not agree more….
“I kept telling my parents that I wanted to sing, and they said, “Okay—we can get some writers and producers here if you want this to be real.” So they got all those people in a room, and I was talking, talking, talking about the things that I loved, and the writers came up with that song. It was a beautiful experience.”
This statement MADE ME HURL
This is worse than Gwyneth getting a part in a movie bc of Uncle Steven Spielberg. I HATE NEPOTISM and I HATE PEOPLE WHO DON’T PAY DUES
no it’s not worse than Gwyneth who actually denies that her parents connections helped her. I think Willow is being pretty honest about her advantages. I prefer this.
Why blame Willow? She was born to this life. What else would you expect her to do? It’s ridiculous to say she’s this or that, spoiled, didn’t pay her dues, a brat, etc. You live the life you were born to. I think she’s pretty level headed, actually. She hasn’t been in any kind of trouble that I’ve heard about. Seems like a nice and talented kid.
Yes, so far beyond the realms of my childhood experience that I thought she was joking, until I read further.
So it didn’t occur to her parents to tell her to just keep on singing, offer to get her some training to learn all the things she can do with her voice, and when she was full grown she could see how far she wants to go with it? Instead, they bought her a studio and songwriting team…. If they were only so enthusiastic about education. Rich stage parents.
The teenager in me is totally loving it !
she is giving me life in this photo shoot/interview, absolutely!
I still think she’s too young to be a spokesperson for Chanel, but I agree that she’s likeable and very pretty.
I like the safety pins too. And the blue lipstick.
Love the blue lipstick and the gold eyeshadow. It’s very simple but stark.
I know. I want to try safety pins on my dreadlocks too.
Oh wait – I’m 30. scratch that –‘
Girl please, when if not now? I’d be using my age AS the reason.
“I’m 30 and Donald Trump might get elected. I’m doing whatever the f I want to do.” 😂
I’m 46 and I just dyed my hair manic panic voodoo blue today and wow it sure is blue lol
Everytime I see my self I jump a little in shock.
I really like the safety pins too, especially in the last picture. They kind of give the illusion of a halo.
Same. It’s original, and striking, and I love the effect. Willow has style, all right.
Me as well. Very striking and it just plain suits her.
Why isn’t she modeling? She’s much more striking than any of the Jenners, Hadids, et al.
All three of them are beautiful young women.
I was about to ask the same thing. Her face is incredible, just stunning. I don’t know if she’s tall enough, but that didn’t stop other nepotism models, so it wouldn’t stop her either. She’s a beautiful girl.
The way she describes the making of “I whip my hair” is so strange. You want to be a singer? Well, let’s get writes in here, let’s get producers and boom, you have a career. Everything is so easy when you’re rich and famous.
It’s funny how all the comments lately have been in this same vain because for a while people were saying the exact opposite about Willow’s looks, to the point where I stopped clicking it was so mean.
Glad to see the tide has turned.
Which is weird. Yeah there were a few bad haircuts here and there but she’s always been cute as a button. Whip My Hair with her adorable cheesy grin always makes me smile.
To me she has an ethereal quality to her–almost like a Blanchett–and she has amazing bone structure. She has that very rare, most enviable kind of beauty.
Hear, hear! Love her bone structure and the shape of her eyes.
Willow looks very photo-shopped…doesn’t look like her at all…
yup, with you on that.
I think she is doing modeling. Has plenty of time for it, since she’s not really in school.
Teenagers drive me crazy because they always think they’re the first ones to do something crazy. Or that their persona is totally unique. Willow is no different. Usually, ou grow out of that phase, but she’s in Hollywood so she may never realize it. I like her better than her brother though.
She looks like she’s SWF-ing FKA Twigs.
Genuine question: how?
Looking at the pics their style is nothing alike.
The last pic and Twigs’s EP album cover sums up what I’m getting? I think – similar face and presence.
actually sort of reminds me of FKA Twig’s i-D mag cover crossed with Rihanna’s ANTi World Tour poster announcement…
she can’t exactly help the way her face looks if she has similar features to Twigs…and their hair stylings are nothing alike even accounting for WIllow’s natural hair texture. They’re both gorgeous.
I had the same reaction, only I felt it was more like she was channeling her.
i thought the same thing when i saw the cover photo! The makeup is very similar
Willow really stands out in the header photo. I don’t think she could be considered conventionally beautiful like Zendaya, but she is very interesting looking and striking. That oftentimes is what separates a great model from a good one.
+1, she looks outstanding and I like what she is saying!
I think this is a signal of a taste change in fashion. A lot of people I talk to or notice on here are bored of the same looking blandness that has been shoved down our throats across the board.
Willow has that thing that makes you look at her and has loads of charisma. Zendaya has more going on than just fashion and Kiernan has that extra thing too.
I’m on board with this and look forward to seeing how it turns out.
Agreed. I love this photo shoot for having just enough that’s different without trying so hard it’s pretentious. As someone with a couple blue lipsticks in my makeup chest I love to see things that are different and no longer boring and predictable.
Has Zendaya more going on than just fashion? Everytime she’s in the media it’s about her fashion, not really for her work. Most people say she’s an awful actress. What has she going on? How is she so popular? Is it the Taylor Swift association?
She’s very popular among teens because she’s part of the socially conscious young stars that speak publicly and repeatedly about serious issues on Twitter. That magazine cover is actually kind of the perfect Trifecta, all it’s missing is a few other girls like Amandla and Rowen.
So she’s like a teen life coach?
I heard a song of hers on the radio the other day, and her voice sounded really good actually. Then Chris Brown started singing, and I was like “OH! Hmmm….”
Song is called “Something New ft Chris Brown”.
Zendaya is a fashion girl that is true but she sings and is like a bit of a life coach I guess in a way. She isn’t vapid and has some self awareness which I find refreshing in comparison to others in her position.
Zendaya is not an awful actress. She’s actually quite good and more importantly, had shown steady improvement over the years. She was head and shoulders above her partner in the Disney show Shake It Up from the very beginning and got better while the other kid stayed stagnant. Too early to tell how she will do in acting as a full-fledged adult in adult roles, but she has skills. She has been involved in theater since she was quite young.
The nose ring speaks volumes…
… What does it say 🤔
It says Ouch
I really dont think the Smiths are as Scientology adjacent as people like to claim. I think they just cherry pick they teachings they want and donate money in the expectation that the teachings they approve of will be passed along. How else do you explain Jadens constant flouting of gender conventions. And Willow guiding her friend (was it Zendaya?) to come out as bi?
Yet they opened (and now closed) a school that employed Scientology teachings. I think they are more into it than people think. The whole “children are young adults and should make their own decisions” is totally Scientology. I don’t believe they are in it like Tom Cruise, but are more than you think.
Its no different from how I dont need to be Budhist or Christian to take inspiration from those teachings. Or donate to a faith based school for that matter. Tony Ortega has long said that Jada may have taken auditing early on but fell off. Will was never into it. I think they liked some of the philosophy on child rearing and adopted that part, but were never members in any meaningful way.
Yeah I kept thinking that during the article.
Scientology kids tend to be very similar, yes they have a lot of freedom but they’re also very structured and controlled. Remembering Suri and how she was made to be with her parents at all events even if it was 11pm and how she dressed as formally as possible for a small child.
The Smiths are way too casual for any real devotion to Scientology, their kids way too publicly open and revealing of their opinions. Most Scientology kids, even the famous ones, have a tight lid on their communications. They’re not really allowed to explain themselves.
Don’t like the overdrawn lips, but everything else is okay. The safety pins in the hair seems a fairly normal thing for 15 year olds to try out. Do not like the phrase: “Oh, this is dope”. Not digging the blonde on Zendaya.
Not a fan of the bull ring or,whatever that is called..
She looks cool. I love it.
+1 Definitely coming into her own a bit more now…. (Although I also loved that song and find myself randomly singing it every now and then)
People might hate me for this, but I really enjoy the Smith kids and their weirdness. This interview made me smile and I can’t help it: I think Willow’s cute and unconventional.
I guess I just have a fondness for kids who are different because I was always one of the weird, “freaky” kids growing up.
+1
The weirdness is ok. How proud they are of their lack of formal education is not ok.
I know it bugs you, FB. It’s not nothing, but it just doesn’t irritate me the way it does others.
I just hope that other kids without the Smith’s means dont start looking up to them and decide not to continue with formal education
No hate from me either, Kitten. I admit they annoyed the hell out of me for years with the nepotism and Jaden’s word vomit thoughts, but they’re starting to come into their own and at least Willow sounds like she might have a thought in her head and some semblance of forming her own opinions. I mean, they’re still annoying but they’re no Jenners.
This. I feel like the more aggravating stage has passed. Rowen got a lot of complaints yesterday for being too young to speak about serious issues but compared to Jaden’s philosophizing she’s a Rhodes Scholar.
I don’t think he’s done in life. I will always always always prefer people who try to look at life from a different perspective but I think he needs some real-world knowledge and facts to back up his ideas and maybe then he’ll be able to contribute something really insightful to the conversation.
The Smiths are hit and miss for me but I don’t have overly negative opinions about them especially Willow. I don’t agree with all they say or do but they are supportive of their children and I like that. The kids have super famous parents and that comes with drawbacks but at least they have their own personalities.
they’re growing up and getting smarter, the way it’s supposed to be. I can’t really imagine what it would be like to come up in that environment. I’m curious to know more about their supposed Scientology connection. They seem to support gender fluidity pretty openly. That doesn’t really jibe w/ Scientology, does it?
I think she’s beautiful.
She looks so spare/cool/modern but also … Idk Timeless? She hit the genetic Lotto for sure, she should do more avant garde covers
Willow photographs well. She’s striking and gorgeous. Her locs are growing beautifully as well.
Am I the only one who thought about Marlon Wayan’s character in “Don’t Be A Menace..” with the safety pin in his hair? lol. Except Willow fully committed to the look.
I think she is growing into her looks. As someone who was a scrawny, skinny teen with big ears myself, it makes me say “awww”. She has a great face for editorial modeling.
Ah that movie! LMAO, the first movie that I had to hide from my mom when I was watching it. Lmao.
Willow is pro gay rights,gay love on her social media so I’m not surprised she would watch film with same sex relationship.
So there are three young women on the cover – one is actually an accomplished actress, one is a Disney actress (apparently not very good, but hopefully she’ll learn) who also happens to be very bright, articulate and outspoken about feminist and social issues, and another is the daughter of a power HW couple.
Her singing career started because she wanted to sing, so her parents filled a room with professionals and she talked at them. Brilliant. (Eye roll, super massive eye roll). My son has to do more than that to get a video game – you know, grades, chores, things like that. But if you are a special snowflake you get handed the opportunities, and all of a sudden you are a celeb!! And 90% of the comments on this page are about her rather than the women actually working, because apparently blue lips and a bullnose ring are so unheard of, she must be celebrated for her uniqueness. Ugh… I wont comment on her looks – whether it’s good pr bad, I don’t think a child should be subjected to that kind of commentary. Or lounging on beds with men who are in their twenties. Or to films that are so blatantly sexual. Or to a lack of education. Or be handed a Chanel ambassadorship – which is a stupid idea on so many levels… for Chanel. Even if Willow has a gazillion followers, unless these followers are also the idle kids of multi-millionaires it won’t do the company any good. I don’t see any teenagers rushing to buy a $4,000 purse or $12,000 suit.
Sorry, rant over. I used to love Will – a lot. But looking at how he has raised his kids (or rather allowed them to raise themselves) makes me stabby.
teenagers aren’t rushing to buy $40000 purses or suits but you’d be surprised by the number that will fork out for a $40 lipstick or $100 perfume.
Yup, and that’s really the game plan. They don’t even make a lot of those expensive wardrobe items but they mass produce purses and makeup because that’s where people’s wallets can really take advantage and they see most of their profit from.
I’m with you. And I actually rolled my eyes a little reading the “she has turned out OK”.She’s 15,I’d wait a few years before making a definitive assessment on that. Hopefully, time will prove that I was an awful pessimist, but for the moment I have some reserve.
I hate this new dark lipstick trend. Who does it really look good on? Barely anyone…only on mags I guess. In real life it would look scary lol.
It’s definitely not for me but I’ve seen some darker-skinned women (darker than Willow) looking fabulous with purple lipstick in real life. Same with some very pale women – for some reason, it plays off their features really well.
Call me crazy, but I love it. It’s fun and bold. I wouldn’t wear it to work but for a photo shoot or a night out it definitely works.
Personally I’m cool with looking scary, lol, no fcks given.
I love it and have worn it a few times but I can see how it’s strange if you’re used to more neutral or rosy colors.
Yes!!!
The goal shouldn’t always have to be “look hot” or “be pretty”. Looking interesting or scary or striking can be really fun too!
I think it’s cool and interesting. I like the change up and I always love bold visuals. I experiment with looks a lot but super dark lips are a no go on me. I look evil when I try it.
Well, I like all three girls on the cover. And I think Willow will grow up just fine too.
Can I say I’m just not impressed by the Smith children? not even really there fault more of the parenting they (haven’t) recorded growing up I suppose. But I don’t find that they have any particular talent beside dressing bizarre to stand out. (I guess pretty much the same as the other nepotism we are constantly seeing in Hollywood now, famous for famous parents.) I will say I like the cover a lot and actually do think Willow looks the best here!
Love the safety pins in dreads aesthetic too. Also love her makeup but not necessarily the clothes; sue me — I’m an alien sent here from the 80s and 90s.
The whip my hair anecdote makes me a little queasy, but I like her comments on actors, movies and 3D, the wisdom of her being allowed to watch that particular movie not withstanding.
Willow’s reaction to the movie makes me feel it was ok for her to see it even at her age. Every kid is different.
Just like at the Chanel show she is posing. SO. HARD. Her interview sounds pretty normal though for a 15 year old (minus the “I wanted to sing so my parents paid for everything..” part). I find it odd too that Zendaya’s part is so short since I’d consider her a rising star more than Willow.
Personally, I think Willow is Stunning. I think in another couple of years, she is going to knock everyone D.E.A.D.! 2 years, to be exact.
Willow reminds me of my when I was her age (10 years ago). I was also the “cool”, “intellectual” teenager who was into foreign films, studied different languages, played the drums, went to political protests, etc…, but in all honesty, I don’t think at 15 you understand that much about the “adult world”, even when you think you do. Then I hit 18-19 and, especially living in a 3rd world country, things got real. I stop playing to be avant-garde, some of my hobbies and thoughts stayed the same, but others, especially those regarding to social issues changed quite a bit. I know this is my personal experience but I can’t help but notice a lot of patterns, attitudes and phrases which I recognize as fake.
In a completely superficial note, I normally find Willow very unfortunate looking, but she looks absolutely stunning in this pictures.
I hardly think 15 is too young for a movie showing lesbian love!
Yeah, not sure why it being a ‘lesbian’ love story matters. It’s about a 15 year old too, so of course teens will watch and relate.
hmmm, sorry, I remember doing the whole safety pin thing in the 80’s (yes, I know I’m dating myself now).. but I guess every new generation thinks they are the newest, baddest, most radical ever… I get it but it’s nothing new. Oh to be young again! 🙂
Right on Unicorn. My friends and I got our jewelry from the hardware store in the 80s. Good memories.
Yep! There was just a little thing called Punk Rock. Safety pin earrings anyone?
Literally wore some the other day because I didn’t have earrings in, had pulled a couple of safety pins out of some pants and thought ‘eh, why not?’ Safety pins aren’t exactly a new thing in fashion, had a friend when I was in a punk band who wore like 30 pins in one dreadlock, it was insane.
I’m really irked by ‘I prefer to be unusual’. Unusual isn’t really something you cultivate. It’s pretentious, but who wasn’t pretentious at that age, I guess?
Willow has a striking face, just not mature enough for modeling. I dont ‘know if it’s because I’m middle aged, but to me she reads about ten years old. This tween trend in high fashion feels incongruent.