If the TikTok generation ever gets around to erecting a statue of Gigi Hadid, the model will doubtless be depicted wearing a cropped T-shirt, boyfriend denim, and a pair of Adidas trainers. That’s because Hadid has spent the past couple of summers clinging to this precise blueprint, as seen in paparazzi photos and Instagram posts – mostly while getting out of expensive cars and waving at strangers on the street. She might be less of an experimental dresser than sister Bella Hadid, but Gigi has real conviction in her choices for this reason.
The model was yesterday afternoon photographed strolling through New York in a navel-bearing tee, frayed jeans, and Adidas Gazelles with a Miu Miu Arcadie bag customized with scarf-wrapped top handles. Her boyfriend Bradley Cooper wore a faded slogan T-shirt, cargo shorts, and Salomon trainers. He is perhaps resisting yet another “Gigi-fication” headline.
Like Kim Kardashian in beige shapewear or Victoria Beckham in black-out sunglasses, celebrities have long taken ownership of a particular aesthetic to codify who and what they’re about. But Hadid’s choice uniform – tight tops and baggy jean shorts with bright-red sneakers – reflects that which most other 29-year-olds are wearing at the moment. It works because she is a woman of the people, a tomboyish equestrienne with a Tommy Hilfiger contract, and the clothes are therefore no fuss, approachable, and easy to replicate. This positions Gigi Hadid as an older sister-type more than a multi-millionaire supermodel.
