NEXT IN FASHION Host Gigi Hadid Covers ELLE’s March 2023 Issue

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In ELLE’s March 2023 cover story, photographed by Mario Sorrenti, Gigi Hadid shows that through tears, joy, and hard work, the model-turned-designer is reimagining her life.

This year has given Hadid the chance to find ways of working that help her feel whole—and the ability to show the world elements of herself that haven’t made it into the photos. Last fall, Hadid, 27, launched Guest In Residence, a line of cashmere classics with a spin, built around the idea that key staples meant to be kept and worn for years are inherently sustainable. She is also starting a new role as a co-host in Netflix’s reality competition Next in Fashion, alongside Tan France, with season two debuting next month.

When ELLE associate editor Adrienne Gaffney asks what is it that you wouldn’t know about her from the headlines or social media posts, Hadid pauses and, unexpectedly, her eyes well with tears. “What does the world not know about me? I don’t know. I’m getting emotional [thinking about it]. I think that I’m someone who you have to be in front of to experience. It’s not hard. This isn’t a complaint. It’s more that in my job, you see a lot of snapshots,” she says. She wipes away the tears and kindly excuses my apology for bringing them on. “No, it’s fine. Apparently, I needed to say it. There are a lot of snapshots and really quick moments where, again, there’s not a lot of context given.”

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On hosting for new Netflix show Next in Fashion alongside Tan France and how it has allowed her to show another side of herself—her ‘goofy’ side— to people: She’s a reality competition completist and France is a friend, so “it felt like a safe place for me to take the plunge,” she says. “But Netflix was not easy on me. They really put me through an audition process. I respected that, and it made me feel good when I got the job. I felt like I had earned it in their eyes, and so that gave me the confidence to go for it. You get a sense of impostor syndrome and you’re like, ‘Okay, are they just giving me this show because I have a lot of followers?’ The fact that they really questioned my intentions for being on the show helped me jump into it headfirst. If they think that I can do it, then that gives me more confidence than maybe I would’ve had otherwise.” The show has helped draw out seemingly hidden traits in Hadid as well: “People say I’m funny. I don’t know, but I think that the more time I’m given, then the more I’m able to be goofy.”

On landing the tricky balance between discretion and disclosure that fame requires and how it is a matter of trial and error that she’s been fine-tuning for nearly a decade: “I’ve had early experiences where you learn how the world reacts when you share things in certain ways. Sometimes you just leave some- thing feeling like you were taken out of context. Or just feel like you revealed too much, and it was taken advantage of. Whatever those learning-the-hard-way experiences are, you grow a certain skin,” she says.

On advice from Serena Williams that has helped her get through the scrutiny and criticism: “realizing that nothing really matters. Serena Williams once told me, ‘Nothing stays in the press longer than three weeks.’ You can feel like your life is ending,” Hadid notes, but “if it’s a mistake, then it will pass. I think it’s about not taking yourself that seriously and being like, ‘When I am on my deathbed, I’m not going to remember that one awkward interview from when I was 19.’”

On what people wouldn’t know about her from the headlines or social media posts: She pauses and, unexpectedly, her eyes well with tears. “What does the world not know about me? I don’t know. I’m getting emotional [thinking about it]. I think that I’m someone who you have to be in front of to experience. It’s not hard. This isn’t a complaint. It’s more that in my job, you see a lot of snapshots,” she says. She wipes away the tears and kindly excuses my apology for bringing them on. “No, it’s fine. Apparently, I needed to say it. There are a lot of snapshots and really quick moments where, again, there’s not a lot of context given.”

Donatella Versace on Hadid: “She has incredible presence as a woman, an inner strength that shines within her. She is also one of the kindest women I know, and family is so important to her—like it is to me.”

Tommy Hilfiger, who worked with Hadid on a series of Tommy x Gigi capsule collections, on Hadid: “Throughout her career, she’s had so many fantastic achievements, but it’s her kind personality and down-to-earth energy that have made her stand out from the rest.” He adds that he’s not surprised to see her leading her own brand.

[Photo Credit: Mario Sorrenti for ELLE Magazine – Video Credit: Netflix/YouTube]

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• Gigi Hadid
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• Next In Fashion
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