Becoming Bella

Though she has one of the most recognizable faces in fashion, BELLA HADID says that building confidence is a work in progress.

- Kahlana Barfield Brown

Bella Hadid may look as if she’s got nothing to worry about, but the Instagram-loving supermodel who is a face of Dior Beauty (she’s fronting the brand’s Backstage collection, out this month) has certainly had plenty of moments of self-doubt. “People think I’m very confident, but I really had to learn how to be,” says Hadid, who admits to feeling awkward about her “big hips” and “weird face” when she was younger. Now, at 21, she not only has learned to embrace her distinctive features but also wants to offer hugs to the detractors who leave negative comments on her social media feeds. “People think I got all this surgery or did this or that. And you know what? We can do a scan of my face, darling. I’m scared of putting fillers into my lips. I wouldn’t want to mess up my face.”

Did anyone teach you about beauty when you were  growing up? I learned about beauty from my mom, though mostly in terms of skin care. She’s always said that good skin is so much more important than the stuffyou put on top of it. My dad, meanwhile, never wanted us to wear makeup, so we didn’t. I rode horses, and my sister [fellow supermodel Gigi] played volleyball. In my family, it wasn’t about how you looked; it was about how you competed.

Did you consider yourself a tomboy? I was definitely more tomboy than girlie, but I had a girlie side too. I would wear Dr. Martens with my little plaid skirts and tights to school. I remember giving one of my friends a makeover because she was such a tomboy, even more than me. I would bring her clothes in the sixth grade, and that’s how we became best friends. I learned you can change people’s lives at school [laughs]! That’s where I found my love for fashion.