Today, we blow out 28 candles together with (we dare say) the main model of our time – and not only because of dozens of shows and covers of the best glossy magazines, but also because of the influence that Hadid has on the fashion industry – British Vogue calculated that Bella’s runway looks are almost 852% (!) more popular than others, and her appearance in a Schiaparelli dress at the
Cannes Film Festival in 2021 significantly increased interest in the festival itself and the brand (the number of requests with the name Elsa Schiaparelli increased by 1900%). In honor of Bella Hadid’s birthday, we recall her best looks from the red carpet and beyond.
Isabella Hadid is the middle child of model and TV star Yolanda Hadid and Palestinian-born billionaire Mohamed Hadid. The pre-baby spent her childhood in a Los Angeles mansion with servants and private equestrian lessons — happy and carefree, except for the constant comparison (and not in the best way) with her older sister Gigi.
The media has long accused Yolanda of, to put it mildly, toxic treatment of children (from judging Gigi for a piece of birthday cake to sabotaging Bella’s relationship). The mother of the family considered herself more of a mentor than a tyrant and in one of the episodes of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills she said the following: “When I was a model, there was no one next to me. I’ve traveled the world myself! So now I help the girls — I come to the shoots, give them advice and support them.”
Yolanda is also credited with forcing Bella to undergo rhinoplasty, which was done on the eve of her 14th birthday (according to US law, plastic surgery under 18 is only performed with parental consent) – a few months after a charity concert, where the girl appeared arm in arm with her mother and stepfather, producer David Foster. The model first spoke about her teenage nose job to American Vogue in 2022: “I’m very sorry that I didn’t keep my natural nose shape.
Many people think that I completely changed my face, but this is because of some childhood photos in which I was just swollen. But you don’t look the same now as you did at thirteen, right?”
At that time, Bella was a rare guest on the red carpet with rare exceptions – at the Kids Choice Awards and the Sportmax party, she appeared as +1 to her increasingly popular sister and was clearly partial to animal prints (for the first occasion, she chose a snakeskin jumpsuit, and for the second, an age-appropriate strict leotard-two-piece paired with a black coat and classic pumps). The game changer happened in 2014, when Hadid signed a contract with the modeling agency IMG models (a year before, Gigi signed the same one) and debuted at New York Fashion Week, and in 2016 she received the Model of the Year award. From ridiculous catsuits and unflattering stretchy minis paired with beach sandals, Bella switched to a glittering Alexandre Vauthier maxi, which she wore at the Grammys, hugging (new boyfriend and singer) The Weeknd.
The debut iconic look is a customized scarlet dress with a deep neckline and a high (higher than ever!) slit on the leg by the same Alexander Vauthier, in which Hadid appeared on the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival. “I’m still terribly embarrassed by this look, although it is generally considered legendary.
I think that from that moment on, the triumph of Belinda began – my alter ego and, in fact, my complete opposite,” the model later recalled. It seems that the liberated rebel Belinda (read: stylist Elizabeth Sulser) completely seized power over Bella’s wardrobe and alternated an openwork Alexander Wang catsuit (included by Vogue in the list of the most controversial Met Gala looks) with translucent corset and latex dresses.
With Belinda’s arrival, the model has become a regular feature of the Best Dressed column. Each time, Hadid chose figure-hugging silhouettes, cutouts, and sheer fabrics (or better yet, all at once!) — hence the armor dress from Gareth Pugh x Chrome Hearts, the kitsch Moschino with mega-cutouts on the hips, the naked catsuit, and the see-through metallic dress.
Deliberate sexuality (and ignoring underwear) is the main feature of Bella’s style in the 2010s, which she gradually began to abandon in 2020 in favor of the extreme shoulders of Balenciaga and the traditional elegance of Chanel.
And since the 2020s, Bella (with the support of stylist Law Roach) has become seriously interested in vintage. In addition to archival Gucci, Jean Paul Gaultier and Versace for the red carpet, the model’s everyday wardrobe now includes Cossack boots and country blouses from the 70s, leather jackets and punk T-shirts from the 90s, tight shirts and office siren glasses from the 2000s – she masterfully juggles fashion eras, adding a preppy skirt, capri pants paired with a wedge, or a pastoral sundress.
And if in the second half of the 2010s Bella was demonstrating her emancipation and sexuality with all her might (yes, according to all the fashion rules, but still), then since 2020 she has become a full-fledged fashion figure and one of the main trendsetters thanks to competent eclecticism, which surprisingly fits into the framework of a proven style. So, from a couture dress with a Schiaparelli bustier necklace, she transforms into baggy jeans and futuristic Balenciaga glasses, and from a Burberry leather corset into a laconic vintage Gucci long-sleeve dress.
In 2023, Bella disappeared from the fashion radar – according to one version, due to an exacerbation of Lyme disease, and according to another – due to her pro-Palestinian position (Dior even terminated the contract with the model in favor of the Israeli model May Tager). The long-awaited comeback happened at the recent Paris Fashion Week – Bella walked the Saint Laurent catwalk in an impeccable power suit with a tie and pointed-toe pumps. But if the industry did not look in Hadid’s direction for some time, then we certainly did not – we closely watched the launch of the perfume brand (and noted the orientalist translucent dress with a corset in the same tone) and recorded her every appearance at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024, where, out of habit, she alternated between the transparent nylon provocation of Saint Laurent and the vintage classic of Versace. Bella Hadid turns 28 not only as a global ambassador for Chopard (to spite Dior!) and the owner of a perfect face according to the golden ratio, but also as the model of our hearts and one of the main icons of modern style.