‘That classic French cool girl was always a look that inspired me. And my mum of course.’
Kaia Gerber lets out a charming nervous laugh when we suggest that she is, in fact, a beauty icon. With a legendary Nineties supermodel for a mum, multiple global beauty campaigns under her belt, including being the face of Marc Jacobs Daisy Ever So Fresh, plus Met Gala red carpet appearances, Prada runway walks and movie roles in abundance, the acting ingenue and model is surprisingly humble. A muse for designers and directors alike, at just 20 years old, Gerber’s ambitions (and abilities) may be sky high but her feet are refreshingly on the ground.
Equal parts avid reader and book club founder, beauty experimenter, haute couture regular and social commentator, the LA native defies definition. Just as comfortable speaking out about abortion rights as she is posing in a car park bubble bath for LOEWE, or cutting her own bangs, Gerber might actually be the voice of a generation.
Below, ELLE UK caught up with Kaia to discuss the dangers of comparison culture, her bum-length Met Gala hair and why, ultimately, beauty should be fun…
Kaia Gerber lets out a charming nervous laugh when we suggest that she is, in fact, a beauty icon. With a legendary Nineties supermodel for a mum, multiple global beauty campaigns under her belt, including being the face of Marc Jacobs Daisy Ever So Fresh, plus Met Gala red carpet appearances, Prada runway walks and movie roles in abundance, the acting ingenue and model is surprisingly humble. A muse for designers and directors alike, at just 20 years old, Gerber’s ambitions (and abilities) may be sky high but her feet are refreshingly on the ground.
Equal parts avid reader and book club founder, beauty experimenter, haute couture regular and social commentator, the LA native defies definition. Just as comfortable speaking out about abortion rights as she is posing in a car park bubble bath for LOEWE, or cutting her own bangs, Gerber might actually be the voice of a generation.
Below, ELLE UK caught up with Kaia to discuss the dangers of comparison culture, her bum-length Met Gala hair and why, ultimately, beauty should be fun…
Tell us the best beauty advice you’ve ever been given…
‘My mum always just said less is more, and I’ve tried to live by that. I don’t think this is true for everyone, but I feel the most beautiful when I feel like myself so I try not to overdo it because I don’t want to feel like I’m wearing a mask. Also, don’t touch your eyebrows! That’s a big one. It was such a big trend when I was younger to get your eyebrows threaded or waxed or tweezed but when I started modelling I got told, “Don’t touch them” and I still haven’t. Super skinny brows are coming back which is crazy because I thought we’d never go back to that. I’m tempted to try it but I also don’t want to mess with my brows. I’d be the person whose eyebrows never grew back and I’m too scared!’
You’re the face of Marc Jacobs Daisy, how many bottles of it do you have at home?
‘My perfume stash is basically every version of Marc Jacobs Daisy ever made. I have a designated shelf to it which I’m very proud of. They look so pretty all together. I’ll choose which one I want to wear depending on the day and how I’m feeling which is a fun part of my routine. The giant bottles are amazing as well – the ones we used for the campaign are extra giant and actually filled with liquid so they’re really heavy. I got a proper arm workout when we were shooting that. Then when I get a normal sized bottle I’m like, “It’s so cute!”. ‘
You’ve been blonde, pink, had a bob, a fringe, what are you feeling for your hair now?
‘I can’t believe how much my hair has grown! It’s the first time in three years that I’ve had what I call long hair – it’s long for me anyway! It’s very exciting. I always have an itch to do something to my hair. It’s like an actual personality trait of mine where every morning I wake up and think, “What if I shaved my head today?” Most days I tell myself to “Sssh” but some days I don’t and that’s when I end up cutting my own fringe… It’s still growing out. But it’s just hair, it grows back.’
Your hair practically won the Met Gala this year, talk us through the look…
‘It wasn’t heavy but it was a lot of hair. I already had sewn in extensions for something I was filming and I couldn’t take them out so I was like, “What can I do with these extensions for the Met Gala?” Guido Palau, who was doing my hair for the event, sent me loads of references of pre-Raphaelite paintings with these women with amazing, brushed out curly, wild hair and I thought it was so beautiful. So we put even more hair extensions in. It took four hours the day before the Met and they weren’t curled at that point so I had this insane long hair that went past my butt and I didn’t know what to do with it! It was really fun.’
GARETH CATTERMOLE
Tell us about the latest addition to your tattoo collection…
‘My most recent tattoo is a shell on my back that my friend Esther, who’s a tattoo artist, gave me. A group of us got matching ones because we made this film called The Palisades that had a lot of sea references. But I’ve definitely slowed down on getting tattoos because it adds so much time at the beginning of a modelling job to cover them all up, plus I want to spare my parents the anxiety it gives them! At least I wasn’t the first child to get a tattoo, my brother got one first so I was like as long as he has more than me I can’t be the problem child.’
