This cover is, I think, beautiful but a bit sad. Having said that, I think that Elle went for it because (a) she actually looks less like Cindy Crawford here than she usually does, and it’s nice to differentiate the kid!, and (b) there is great real eye contact here. Also, of course, who doesn’t love some spangles?
The profile is quite well done. It doesn’t pretend that we don’t want to hear about Cindy, and Kaia also, refreshingly, does not shy away from wanting to talk about her mother. (I’ll never forget one Fashion Week, where Heather and I went to interview an actress whose mother is very famous, and were informed that the actress would not be talking about her mother at all. I get wanting to stand on your own, but also she probably would have more coverage if she’d had something quippy to say before redirecting.) Kaia seems shy and quiet and sweet, and also pretty thoughtful. This was very interesting:
ELLE I’m curious about your thoughts on books as accessories. There was an interesting article in T: The New York Times Style Magazine about a book stylist for celebrities.
KG Oh, this is not a thing. This is not a thing.
ELLE Oh, it’s a thing.
KG It’s like a stylist, but for books? They’re not necessarily reading them, is that correct?
ELLE They are carrying them. They can read them. It helps get the author’s name out there, but it’s also a weird thing to see it as this consumer product.
KG Getting people to read, no matter how you do it, is very cool. But how can you promote something that you don’t fully understand? I would never tell people to read a book that I’ve never read. I’ve had people be like, “Do you really read the books you carry?” I was like, “Would I be carrying a book that I haven’t read?” I always have a book, because in the job that I’m in, you wait around a lot. I cannot be on my phone. Social media makes me anxious when I spend a lot of time on it, so that’s why I escape into books.
I did laugh at this bit:
KG I won’t deny the privilege that I have. Even if it’s just the fact that I have a really great source of information and someone to give me great advice, that alone I feel very fortunate for. My mom always joked, “If I could call and book a Chanel campaign, it would be for me and not you.”
I’d click through and look at the editorial shoot, too. Some of the snaps in there are excellent — Kaia has improved as a model a lot. I might have swapped out one of the interior shots for the cover, actually, and I’m interested to hear if you agree.
