When thinking of today’s “it girls” in fashion and modeling, the mind immediately goes to models like Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Kaia Gerber, Bella Hadid, Lily Rose Depp. Aside from their beautiful faces and bodies, they have better connections in the industry. These supermodels with some of the largest followings in the world are the product of some of the most well-known celebrities. Dominating runways, ad-campaigns, and gracing the covers of well known magazines like Vogue has become an easy task for these models of nepotism. Lesser-known models with just as much beauty and talent have been pushed aside and had jobs taken away from them. This issue here is not their lack of beauty of modeling talent, but that their takeover of the fashion industry has suppressed the creativity of the industry.

In November 2017, Kendall Jenner surpassed Giselle Bündchen as the year’s highest earning model, passing the torch from the old generation to the new. However, Kendall Jenner is a member of the high-profile Kardashian family, and has received much criticism from members of the fashion community. Jenner describes her approach to modeling in an interview with LOVE Magazine, “Since the beginning, we’ve been super selective about what shows I would do… I was never one of those girls who would do like 30 shows a season or whatever the fuck those girls do. More power to ‘em. But I had a million jobs, not only catwalks but everything else. The whole combination was very overwhelming and I started to freak out a little bit and needed to take a step back.” This comment did not sit well with many people in the industry, calling Jenner “privileged”  in being so selective. Not all models come from celebrity dynasties to fall back on and each job they get is a source of income. Hardly anyone in the industry has “a million jobs”, causing Jenner to come off as obnoxious and lacking self-awareness. Jenner’s success has led to bitterness and jealousy from other models, seen by an incident that occurred in 2014 when Jenner was just starting out. Backstage at a fashion show it was reported that other models had bullied Jenner and put out their cigarettes in her drinks. Another bullying incident occurred the next year at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

Gigi and Bella Hadid, supermodel daughters of ex-supermodel Yolanda Hadid and real estate tycoon Mohamed Hadid, are a prime example of  modeling nepotism. These girls were raised to be supermodels, having everything they consumed controlled by their mother since they were children. Scenes of this can be shown in Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in where their mother, Yolanda, was a star. Gigi started modeling at the age of four for Guess and had access to large brands like these because of their parent’s establishment in the industry. Over the past few years the Fashion Awards portrays this nepotism, having Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, Kaia Gerber, and Kendall Jenner nominees and winners of Model of the Year. Recently, the nominees for the award have become more diversified with models like Anna Ewers and Adwoa Aboah.

Lily-Rose Depp, daughter of Johnny Depp and model Vanessa Paradis, became the face of Chanel in 2016 like her mother years before. She talks about her experience with Chanel in a sweet, nostalgic way saying: “My mum has worked with them since she was 18 and I’ve gone to the store with her since I was little.” Look beyond this poetic statement and it shows how the privileged stay privileged. Karl Lagerfeld was a family friend to Depp and Paradis, so once Lily-Rose decided she wanted to venture into fashion the only thing to be done was make a call. Being an unconventional model, standing at five feet three inches, Lily-Rose should have had some difficulty making it in the modeling industry, but because of her familial connections she was the face of a high fashion brand as her first ad-campaign.

Seeing the children of famous celebrities brings up a sort of nostalgia, something the younger generations seem to eat up. Nepotism is in every industry today, so it is not uncommon, but is so prevalent in the fashion industry to the point of insanity. In an industry where models are seen as clothing hangers, the issue of nepotism is a reminder to aspiring models that it will be extremely difficult to make a name for themselves unless they have a large following or a famous family to fall back on.