Photo: Angela Pham / BFAnyc.com
“Honestly, I’m her biggest fan,” exclaimed Bella Hadid, the younger sibling of newly minted supermodel Gigi Hadid. She was celebrating her sister as she cohosted a party at Milk Studios with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ J.R. Smith. “Every morning I’ll text her—just today, I was like, ‘I’m so proud of you! You’re doing so well.’ She just booked the Vogue Spain cover, and I was like, you’re my inspiration.”
As for competitive feelings: “We’ve never had sibling rivalry,” she said. “We’ve had the same friends and shared clothes. When people ask me who my best friend is I always tell them it’s my sister. If anything, I know that Gigi just inspires me to work a little harder. I want to follow in her footsteps. I want to one day walk in Chanel, too.”
Not that the younger of the sisters needs much help. Along with booking steamy editorials with the likes of Ben Barnes for Marie Claire, the
18-year-old just became the new face of Botkier New York.
“I’ve only been doing this for four months, but I’m making my way up there,” she said. “I’m trying my hardest and trying to still be true to myself. I want to be seen as a real person and very personable. I want people to know about me. I’m really weird and a spastic human.”
The sisters recently showcased their adoration for one another in an editorial in Love magazine. Bella said that she hoped it wouldn’t be the last time they’d collaborate with each other: “We have such different looks that we’ll never compete for the same job. She’s blond; I’m darker. We talked about if we ever get a gig, it’s not because we’re sisters, it’s because we are separate people with different looks.”
But along with being the younger sister comes pressure to try to prove to the industry that she’s become successful thanks to her own hard work. “I feel like I have to work even harder,” she said. “But Gigi is the best older sister, because she always tells me, ‘We’re not going to be lumped as sisters. You’re Bella and I’m Gigi. You have your own identity, too.’ She allows me to have my space and be my own person.”
Meanwhile, between being photographed, taking bites of truffled mac and cheese, and entertaining guests, the older Hadid, sporting a Jonathan Simkhai jumpsuit with a plunging neckline, made sure that Bella was being taken care of. “I don’t know, I am very motherly naturally,” the 19-year old told us. “I feel like it’s almost as if I don’t want to be too motherly, but want to give her the chance to do what she wants to. I’m always here for her.”
—David Yi, Style.com
