Saturday, April 11, 2015

Gigi Hadid Brings High-Fashion to the Cover of AdWeek

Gigi Hadid Brings High-Fashion to the Cover of AdWeek:



These days, we’re used to seeing Gigi Hadid  giving good face on the cover of  major fashion glossies like Teen Vogue and CR Fashion Book.  But for her latest cover coup, the 19-year-old supermodel is going where perhaps, no other model has gone before — the cover of industry trade publication Adweek.

We know what you’re thinking— no, Gigi hasn’t transformed into an ad exec overnight.  She has however, been tapped for the magazine’s “Millennial Issue,” posing as the poster child for the new wave of digitally savvy models using social media to launch (and later insure) their careers in high-fashion.  In addition to stepping in front of the camera for a sleek and sexy cover shoot, the model-of-the-moment opens up about how she has been able to use social media to connect not only with powerhouse brands like Maybelline and Victoria’s Secret, but also (and perhaps even more importantly) with consumers.



“I think it’s always come naturally to just be genuine on social media and to put things into words that people can relate to, rather than putting things in a way that makes them feel that they can’t be a part of it,” she says.

For the digitally-savvy model that means hosting her own Q&A sessions on Twitter (aptly dubbed “#AskGigi), and posting a mix of behind-the-scenes shots from her latest modeling projects and captivating photos giving an inside look into her life as a teenager hanging out with family and friends.



“Gigi is extremely connected, and beyond being connected, she is fantastically engaged with women around the world,” says Leonardo Chavez. Maybelline’s global brand president. “She is extremely relevant for the millennial consumer, not only because of who she is externally—her beauty, her fashion, her style, her sexiness—but also because she is a girl that has amazing confidence, has amazing drive and is willing to share that with women through social channels.”

But for Gigi and her social media contemporaries (Kendall Jenner, Karlie Kloss and Cara Delevingne to be specific), building a personal brand online isn’t just about boosting their modeling pursuits, it’s also a form of insurance against “aging out” of the industry.

“What people want to know is, OK, what’s after modeling? And that’s forcing us to think about those things [even earlier],” Gigi reveals. “It’s not just OK anymore to model until you’re 25 and then stop and be a housewife.”

In Gigi’s case, that means following in the footsteps of Karlie and eventually going back and graduating from college (she took a leave of absence this year to focus on modeling full-time), or perhaps one day hosting her own cooking program.

“I’m an entertainer, and I think that I’ll always be in that business,” she says. ”Who knows?” she wonders. “I could always be a fact checker on CSI.”

Head over to AdWeek.com now to read the full interview on today’s “Social Supermodels,” and check out the video below for a behind-the-scenes look at Gigi’s latest cover shoot.




No comments: