Famous folks are like a fashion barometer. They have direct access to tastemaking brands and the trendy stuff they make, thus allowing them to dress exactly how the zeitgeist dictates. But true power is only wielded by tastemakers like Bella Hadid, who doesn't follow trends as much as dictate, redefine, and dominate trends.
Witness Hadid's take on the buzzy jorts movement, one that I personally admire more in the context of the giant '90s ravers but am nonetheless happy to see return.
Hadid doesn't just wear denim shorts, though, she wears pleated jorts fitted with tear-drop-shaped hickory stripe panels on the front and lighter-colored chambray on the rear. If you thought jorts alone were advanced, Hadid's are year 3000.
A crop top, typical for Hadid, is atypically raw-hemmed. Sleek sunglasses. Y2K-style Louis Vuitton bag. Supreme x Jean Paul Gaultier belt.
There's A LOT going on. And yet, still somehow Hadid got it all to look surprisingly cohesive and pleasantly effortless.
The trick here is that the shorts do the talking while rest of the bits play second fiddle. Even the LV bag is comparatively understated, thanks to its small size.
Oh, I forgot to mention Hadid's giant, leather, knee-high, square-toed riding-style boots.
Now that's a statement shoe.
The entire outfit is pretty potent stuff. The balloony denim shorts vs. the proportions of Hadid's signature tiny top, the pattern play vs. neutrals, the bare skin vs. the covered skin, the huge boots vs. well, everything else.
It's moments like these, when a willowy supermodel wears something outré, that prompt my colleague Alex Pauly to ponder, "Is it fashion or is she just skinny?"
In this case, I deem it fashion.
This is classic Bella Hadid. The supermodel knows how to fuckin' DRESS and she has great taste across the board, from bags to outerwear to sneakers.
She's confident enough to take risks and, honestly, they almost always pay off because she so clearly knows what she's doing. And, crucially, Hadid nails the most important factor: she makes it look easy.
Not to get too worshipful or anything but it's looks like these that demonstrate stylistic good taste without succumbing to mere trend worship. This what power (or good taste, at least) looks like.
