Fun & Famous
Het Meisje Gigi
At my debut for Amayzine, I have to make a confession right away. I am slightly obsessed with Gigi Hadid. Also with Kendall, Bella, and the rest of the #modelsquad, but Gigi was and remains the first. I was obviously early to the party (I have a reputation to uphold here). When I was floored in 2012 by, yes, what actually, the flu or something, and lay on the couch under a blanket for two weeks, I became obsessed with the reality series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (fantastic binge material and together with The Real Housewives of New York, in my eyes the best of the entire Real Housewives franchise – yes, when I do something, I do it well). I became particularly obsessed with the Dutch ex-model Yolanda Hadid (then still Foster, as she was still married to music producer David Foster). I even became obsessed with Yo's too cool fridge, which might mean that I have a tendency to quickly develop an obsession for something, but in this case, I am really not the only one, because that fridge even has its own Twitter account: @YolandasFridge.
Now, Yolanda also had a couple of nice kids, Gigi, Bella, and Anwar, and to see that they were photogenic kids, you only had to have eyes in your head. The then 17-year-old Gigi was already doing some modeling and was being closely monitored by mother Yolanda – okay, she was allowed to snack once a day, but only if she was really hungry and then three almonds that she had to chew on for a long time. Three almonds – when I'm hungry, I take three handfuls of almonds, but well, I'm not a model and this is one of the reasons.
But in this case, mom was right: Gigi has quickly become one of the most popular models with covers, campaigns, more than 20 million Instagram followers, famous boyfriends (Zayn Malik is still BF at this moment, I believe) and everything that comes with it, like a friendship with Taylor Swift.
”She also looked really cool, in an oversized retro Tommy Jeans denim jacket”
Gigi is also the face of Tommy Hilfiger and so it happened that in February, when I was invited to the Tommy show during New York Fashion Week, I suddenly found myself in the elevator with Gigi early in the morning. She had no trace of makeup on (I had everything I brought with me, because hello jetlag) and I was of course standing there with my critical nose as close as possible without it seeming like creepy stalking behavior. Really, stunningly beautiful.
She also looked really cool, in an oversized retro Tommy Jeans denim jacket that I of course immediately purchased myself in the hope that I might also look a bit cool. It works, I must say, because every time I wear it, I get approached on the street by nice girls about my nice jacket.
Now Gigi is not only a global ambassador for Tommy Hilfiger, she is also releasing a capsule collection this fall that she designed (she can do everything!). And the first item from that collaboration is now on my desk: The Girl, an eau de toilette so I can now smell like Gigi.
Okay, I admit it, this is starting to sound a bit obsessed. But it’s also really nice if you don’t care about Gigi: among other things, green pear, fig leaf, jasmine, lily of the valley (popular lately in fragrances, see also Miu Miu), cedarwood, and a hint of cashmere. Gigi herself says about it in the press release: ‘The Girl stands for being true to yourself while having fun. For me, that’s appreciating every moment, laughing at myself, and surrounding myself with everything that makes me happy.’
I say: it’s a nice clear, floral, and fresh scent, ideal for this tropical week.
Available exclusively at Ici Paris XL from next Thursday, July 21 (€ 80 for 100 ml).
Written by Ilonka Leenheer
