While Balenciaga may have rolled out (or trolled out) a platform Croc shoe and Stella McCartney brought recycling to the runway, it was celebrity spawn who proved to be the biggest trend at Paris Fashion Week SS18. And the surname on everybody’s lips was neither Jenner nor Hadid — it was Gerber.
Kaia Gerber, the 16-year-old scion of supermodel Cindy Crawford, made her runway debut at Calvin Klein’s SS18 show in New York earlier in September. Since then, she has undoubtedly been the reigning It-Girl of Fashion Month. A flurry of flashbulbs have followed her from New York to London, Milan and most recently, Paris.
It has been her time at Paris Fashion Week that has cemented her position as the muse of the moment. Under the twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower, a leggy Kaia Gerber conquered the catwalk in a black bubble dress from Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent SS18 ready-to-wear collection. It was ‘LBD’ meets ‘OMG’, and stole the show. She was also spotted in Paris at Off-White, Chloé, Isabel Marant, Valentino and Chanel, where she opened the show.
The soon-to-be-supermodel posted her Chanel look on her Instagram with a caption saying, “OPENING CHANEL!?never in my life could I have even dreamt this. Karl, there are no words to describe how special this was to me. YOU’RE A LEGEND.”
Gerber’s other Paris Fashion Week shows have been much hyped and even historic. She walked in Natacha Ramsay-Levi‘s debut collection for Chloé, a marked turn for the label as it transitioned from flowy and feminine to an aesthetic with attitude — as seen in sharp shoulders, contrast stitching and studded boots. Additionally, she was also part of Isabel Marant’s first-ever presentation for both genders, where she held her own in the major menswear moment.
Beyond the tents, Gerber has been a street style star, appearing in Vogue, The Daily Mail and innumerable blogs, and has built buzz around her speculated tryst with Aussie male model Jordan Barrett. As Vogue reports, the Crawford-Gerbers were the publicly elected first family at Paris Fashion Week, with Kaia being joined by Cindy, businessman dad Rande, and brother and fellow model, Presley Gerber. While in the City of Lights, the siblings were also named as brand ambassadors for Omega. (It is no coincidence that their mother was the watchmaker’s first spokesmodel in 1995.)
As Fashion Month and Paris Fashion Week SS18 come to an end, one thing is for certain: this is just the beginning for Kaia Gerber. Her whirlwind transatlantic journey has included the biggest brands in the business, from more recent streetwear superpowers Off-White and Fenty x Puma by Rihanna to long-standing labels like Burberry and Fendi. Gerber somewhat literally walked in her mother’s footsteps as the two shared the catwalk for Versace in Milan, alongside supermodels Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Helena Christensen and Carla Bruni.
If ever Kaia deserved a break, now might be it. But...that’s not likely.
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