Kaia Gerber finds it odd to be a style icon

25 January 2023

Kaia Gerber finds it odd that “people care” about her outfits.

Kaia Gerber didn't grow up caring about style

The Marc Jacobs model - who is the daughter of iconic 90s supermodel Cindy Crawford, 56 and Rande Gerber, 60 - grew up with no one caring about being considered stylish when she lived on the California coast where shoes seemed to be optional in the classroom.

The 21-year-old model told Elle magazine: “I remember the first time being like, ‘Oh, people care what I’m wearing.’ That wasn’t how I felt growing up. In Malibu, people didn’t wear shoes to school.”

Kaia - who has an older brother Presley, 23 - admitted she she has ‘nepo baby’ “privilege” working in the modelling industry due to her mother but finds its less applicable in the film industry as people don’t want to dilute their “vision” for her family lineage.

She said: “I won’t deny the privilege that I have. Even if it’s just the fact that I have a really great source of information and someone to give me great advice, that alone I feel very fortunate for. My mom always joked, “If I could call and book a Chanel campaign, it would be for me and not you.” But I also have met amazing people through my mom whom I now get to work with.

“With acting, it’s so different. No artist is going to sacrifice their vision for someone’s kid. That just isn’t how art is made, and what I’m interested in is art. Also, no one wants to work with someone who’s annoying, and not easy to work with, and not kind. Yes, nepotism is prevalent, but I think if it actually was what people make it out to be, we’d see even more of it.”

Kaia - an avid reader - named Patti Smith and Joan Didion as the writing heroes she would love to play in a movie.

She said: “Patti Smith, with Just Kids, fully changed my life. And Joan Didion. I’ve read everything she’s ever written. I watched her documentary a million times. She has this quote that really resonated with me, about wanting to know where the pain is. I found that—not running away from your feelings—through her.”