Vogue’s October cover called me a Boomer. It’s not even like Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid are super-young anymore – Gigi is 30, and Kendall will be 30 in November – but it’s their youthful demeanor in the photos and cover story. They make me feel so old! Now, full disclosure, I could not even get through the whole Vogue profile because I found it so mind-numbingly vapid. That’s not about Gigi and Kendall’s ages, it’s just that they are two women with very little to say about anything. They live in a coddled bubble, which means most of the profile is the two of them reminiscing about their friendship and various fashion shows.
KenGi: The two supermodels—Gigi, 30; Kendall, about to be—have spent over a decade at the top of the fashion industry. They’ve also spent these years largely at each other’s side, their friendship a grounding force in fashion’s swirl. Christened KenGi as they came up professionally, the duo were the Betty and Veronica of the Instagram model generation, a group whose personal lives were of equal interest as their glamorous careers. Both have proved equally motivated to turn aside easy assumptions about their backgrounds, and each has cheered the other’s stratospheric rise. And though their lives have evolved on different coasts—a tequila business and competitive riding for Kendall; a cashmere brand, motherhood, and just-for-fun riding for Gigi—the two make a point of seeing each other at reliable intervals and experience the natural tidal shifts of adult friendship: time apart, but when reunited, an immediate reconnection.
The basis of their friendship: “I think the base of our friendship is that we respect the same things that we see in each other when we go to work,” says Gigi. “We’re not there to ask for special treatment. We always work hard.”
Sisters: “We’re sisters more than we’re friends,” Kendall says, and threads the fingers of both hands together, illustrating a bond impossible to untangle. “For example, we probably didn’t see each other for a year during COVID. I never saw you really pregnant.”
A friendship which blossomed in NYC: The pair started hanging out properly in New York City, where Gigi was balancing college and early forays into modeling and where Kendall would fly in for go-sees. Kendall would invite a few girls, including Hailey Bieber and the Hadid sisters, to the SoHo apartment belonging to her sister Kim and her then husband Kanye West. “I was your biggest fan,” remembers Kendall. “And once we started to work together and do shows, I remember those early seasons—we would do the whole month together.”
Virgil-style: On text, Kendall favors an old-school colon-and-parenthesis smiley face; Gigi a slew of hearts. “She’ll throw 12 emojis at you, like, in one line,” says Kendall. “Virgil-style.”
I’ll be nice (for a change) – it’s cool to see a female friendship with a complete lack of toxicity. They just support each other, they’re not in each other’s business 24-7, they aren’t being bitchy or snide to or about one another. It’s like they’re both just floating in a gentle breeze in the same direction. I think Kendall and Gigi probably do see each other as sisters. Obviously, Kendall has a million sisters and Gigi has Bella, but Kendall and Gigi are each other’s chosen sisters. Sigh… I’ve gotten to the point where I actually admire people this vapid. Can you even imagine just living your life without worrying about politics or money or anything at all? Just floating in a gentle breeze, ensconced in a bubble of privilege.
My mean comment: Kendall is such a terrible model, she makes Gigi look like the second coming of Claudia Schiffer.
Cover & IG courtesy of Vogue.
Bella has always been the more interesting of the Hadid sisters. She actually seems to have a personality and things to say.
Exactly. But Gigi was considered the prettiest one, so everyone focused on her.
I’ve always found Bella more interesting to look at but I think Gigi being blonde was more attractive in some people’s eyes.
I guess Kendall(Kim being her sister) had to pick a side, there was a time Taylor Swift was trying to recruit her into her little girl gang. Its amazing how its not discussed enough just how middle school Taylor once was,literally collecting friends just to spite Katy Perry. Because in her head she was some kind of Regina George!
This reads like fanfic.
To be fair, gigi has done some amazing photoshoots. I’ve never really seen it with kendall though. She’s obviously a beautiful girl but not someone that deserves the label top model.
Anyway, i didn’t know Kendall started riding competitively again.
Remember when models could actually model and weren’t just nepo babies? I do. There is nothing to these two. No facial expression and the clothes always wear them.
Truly, what must it be like?