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Do Gigi and Bella Hadid have Rihanna to thank for their all-out fashion domination of 2016? When the Good Girl Gone Bad handpicked the Hadids to debut her goth, sports luxe Fenty by Puma collection at New York Fashion Week in February, it was the start of a succession of catwalk shows, campaigns, and carefully choreographed career moves that have earned them their place as the hautest celebrity siblings on the style scene in 2016.
Rihanna was onto something, and the luxury fashion houses soon came calling. Gigi was the undisputed star of Tommy Hilfiger’s history-making see-now-buy-now New York Fashion Week show, and simultaneously dropped her first adventure in fashion design – TommyXGigi. “I feel like every girl wants to design clothes at some point,” Gigi told Grazia. “It’s something I’ve become even more passionate about as my career has developed.
This was a really nice way to start designing because I could trust in a team that I know is amazing. I could ‘get my feet wet’ creatively and focus on design; it was a really special experience.” A foray into footwear followed: enter the Gigi Boot for Stuart Weitzman.
Not be outdone, in 2016, Bella was inducted into the Business of Fashion’s BoF 500 – a professional index of industry’s most influential players. And proving they’re also winning at the work-life balance, Gigi and Bella attended the Manus X Machina-themed Met Gala in May with their significant others and It-boys OTM Zayn Malik and The Weeknd respectively.
However, 2016 has not been without its setbacks. Gigi stood by boyfriend Zayn pulling out of a charity performance in Dubai due to his ongoing issues with anxiety. Rushing to his defence, in a public message of support addressed to Zayn, she revealed, “I’ve seen the battles you go through and the way you fight to get to a place that allows you to get up there for your fans. Your bravery in those times makes me proud, but your honesty proved what you’re all about, being real. You made the best of the situation and have given your fans an opportunity to understand you better as a performer. Your talent and good heart will never lead you wrong.”
The following month, Gigi was left shaken after an astonishing altercation at Milan Fashion Week. Leaving the Max Mara show with her sister Bella, while being mobbed for selfies by her fans, Gigi was accosted by Ukranian presenter Vitalii Sediuk, who snatched her from behind and lifted her off the ground. Justifying why she fought back, she explained. “My first reaction was, ‘Get me out of this situation.’
Honestly, I felt I was in danger, and I had every right to react the way I did. Confidence in your own ability to defend yourself comes with educating yourself about it, and is a massive advantage when in an unsafe situation.”
In November, Gigi’s “dream come true” of hosting the American Music Awards turned into a nightmare when an ill-judged impression of Melania Trump that she insisted “was done in good humour and with no bad intent” received a mixed reaction from the viewers, prompting her to issue a public apology. “I believe Melania understands show business and the way shows are written and run. I apologise to anyone that I offended and have only the best wishes for our country.”
November was also bittersweet for Bella. She scored – and let’s be honest, slayed – her first Victoria’s Secret show in Paris, but simultaneously gave the world our most awkward catwalk moment of 2016 by sharing the runway with her now ex-boyfriend, The Weeknd. “I was smiling so huge on the inside, I promise,” Bella back-pedalled, explaining her stony expression captured on the catwalk next to her former flame. We don’t buy it, Bella. By the end of 2016, their status as the industry’s most influential sisters was assured, both receiving nominations at the illustrious Fashion Awards for International Model of the Year. Bella skipped the ceremony at London’s
Royal Albert Hall while Donatella Versace presented the award to Gigi. So what’s next for fashion’s first family?
Bella will be unleashing her first fashion collaboration with US streetwear brand Chrome Hearts. Gigi’s got the SS17 Stuart Weitzman campaign on lock, and will of course be front and centre as Tommy Hilfiger’s relocates his Fashion Week show to LA. Beyond that, Grazia’s money’s on Gigi and Bella’s younger brother Anwar, who made a confident runway debut at Moschino’s SS17 menswear show in LA in February.
Room on the catwalk for one more, girls?
Alison Tay is the Editor-in-Chief of GRAZIA Middle East and an International Woolmark Prize judge. Follow the British fashion journalist and celebrity stylist on Instagram and Twitter.
