Yesterday, model Kaia Gerber and supermodel mom Cindy Crawford spoke openly about their careers, mother/daughter relationship, and modeling in the age of social media at Vogue's Forces of Fashion panel moderated by former editor and author Tonne Goodman.
The 18-year old, who is featured in the November issue of Vogue, spoke highly of growing up with mom Cindy and how it gave her the ultimate "point of reference." "If anyone had a point of reference, I definitely did and one of the best ones," Kaia said.
For her, the world of modeling wasn't, "a foreign world to go into," she shared. "I felt like I understood it. I knew what I was kind of getting into. I’d been around it a lot. I definitely think there are some things that no matter how much somebody can tell you about, there were a lot of things you do have to learn firsthand." She said because of her mom's experience, it was "definitely less scary" to begin her career and that she has, "so much appreciation for women, like my mom and for the other girls who come who don’t know anything."
Kaia also spoke about the challenges she faces as a young model especially post the #MeToo movement and in the wake of Vogue and the CFDA's decision last summer to commit to an 18+ modeling policy and revised codes of conduct.
Kaia said, "I think it’s difficult to be the one to first speak up but, again, that’s where social media I think played such a huge role. Suddenly it was like, 'Okay, she’s been through this, too, and this person’s been through this, too.' It gave us the opportunity to feel heard and not only heard but supported and encouraged to talk about these issues."
She recalled being taken aback, in a good way, the first time someone on set asked permission before tucking in her shirt. "For me as a model, I never thought about that. But suddenly when they asked me, I was like, 'You know what? That makes sense, right? Like it is appropriate to ask, ‘Can I tuck your shirt in?' Something clicked in my head where I realized that now everyone was really making an effort to make sure everyone felt comfortable," Kaia said.
It's refreshing to hear Kaia's feelings of empowerment and confidence as a young, female model in an industry that is continuing to adapt and change in positive ways. The model says that now she, "definitely feels more encouraged to speak up" and that modeling feels like, "more of a collaborative process."
Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
