Social Media Models Take Over New York Fashion Week

Gigi Hadid, Hailey Baldwin, and Bella Hadid are all known for being close buds of Kendall and Kylie Jenner, but they also have something else in common… they were the models of New York Fashion week.

From Tommy Hilfiger to Dianne Von Furstenberg, these models were all over fashion Twitter and Instagram accounts. To some it may seem like these girls are simply popular models, but for others, they are a living, breathing proof of nepotism in the fashion industry.

Among hundreds of models, these three models (and their bestie, Kendall Jenner) received almost all the media coverage and attention. The truth of the matter is that no matter how good a model’s walk was or how well they posed in editorials, social media models were dominating the competition. They are officially the models designers are flocking to, so guess what… they are the ones that will be getting the attention during Fashion Week.

As social media has become more prevalent in everyday life, there's an added pressure to have the right models promoting the right products. In a video for Reuters, Gigi Hadid said that social media has had a massive impact on her career.

Hadid said:

“If you have a big fan base, companies want to work with you because that gives them a bigger fan base."

Girls like Kendall, Gigi, Hailey, and Bella have had a brand that started long before they could crawl. The famous last names of the most popular models can and have opened up doors in the industry.

While all the girls have stereotypically slim bodies, a lot of the general public is questioning whether or not they truly have what it takes to be models… let alone supermodels. Typical complaints you’ll see just trolling through Twitter have been that they aren't slim enough, have zero personalities, have average looking faces, have a sloppy walk, don't know how to fix their face for editorials, and don’t bother to learn to improve on their modeling. Basically, while fashion magazines are comparing them to Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell, the public seems to believe they should be trying their luck on a season of America’s Next Top Model.

The consensus is that without their famous last name, rich-girl status, and millions of Instagram followers, these girls wouldn’t have made it to the top. Modeling may be a job for these girls, but it’s not one that they depend on for their survival. They were born into money, and their parents still make a lot of it.

The fashion industry has been known to be picky and biased of who they choose to model in certain shows. Millions of girls grow up wanting to be models but are turned away because they aren’t skinny enough, tall enough, or don’t have the “it” factor about them. For these social media models, it appears that the industry is nothing but accommodating, because they have a unique ability to add to the brand.

With these girls dominating the runways of Fashion Week, the social media-modeling trend seems to be one that the fashion industry will run with. It’s the models found on social media platforms that are taking center stage. You never know, next season we could find a new obsession on Instagram who suddenly becomes the new “it girl.”

We’ll have to wait and see, but when she does come around, don’t be surprised if she is friends with the other social media models… they tend to run in packs.