The making of fashion’s most bankable muse

Insiders are calling 2022 Bella Hadid’s year. From that viral spray-on dress runway moment to countless campaigns, it’s world domination for the model

- Joe Stone

IN this age of chaos and uncer-tainty, when prime ministers have the shelf lives of salad, let us be thankful for one constant, calming presence. She is the face glaring sphinx-like from every billboard, the body that redefined the term “spray-on dress” and the mind that coined the phrase “homeboys gonna, like, get it” while still maintaining enough cultural capital to sell you mascara. She is Bella Hadid and she is everywhere.

At Paris Fashion Week this month, Hadid dominated, walking 19 shows. Among them, Thom Browne, who said: “She is a once-in-a-generation talent who transcends fashion and creates a world of her own. You look at her and want to inhabit this world.” She has 27 international Vogue covers under her belt, with British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful telling me: “Her style blends classic elegance with edgy, fresh looks that she lays down with utter individuality.” And earlier this week the British Fashion Council nominated her for Model of the Year at the Fashion Awards.

Hadid belongs to a new breed of supermodels who sidestepped the tradition of being discovered in a mall by being born to incredibly rich and well-connected parents (see also: Kendall Jenner, Hailey Bieber, Kaia Gerber and Lila Moss). Her mother is Dutch former model Yolanda Hadid, notable as a retired Real Housewife of Beverly Hills. Her father is Palestinian property developer Mohamed Hadid, who once beat Donald Trump for the development rights to a site in Aspen. It’s a classic riches to riches tale.