you might drive 90 minutes from New York City and feel as though youve never left.
Same restaurants, same people, same conversations, same outfits.
Hadid shouts from the doorstop of a long, low house nestled into the surrounding hills.
THIS SIDE OF PARADISEIn the images that follow, Hadid plays a starring role in Annie Leibovitz’s fashionable ode to the Jazz Age. Here, she motors back in time to the historic Greenwich Village home of poet E.E. Cummings. Chanel jacket and skirt. J.R. Malpere hat.
Its a modern structure, but made with reclaimed materials and wide windows that frame the landscape.
And there was a darkness to that for me.
Here, she motors back in time to the historic Greenwich Village home of poet E.E.
ALL IN GREENThe actor Mike Faist embodies Cummings, who, in 1934, married the model Marion Morehouse—played by Hadid, resplendent in Fendi. Menswear Editor: Michael Philouze.
Chanel jacket and skirt.
But the escape was also a necessity.
Her fame, asone of the first Instagram models,came with boundary-breaking invasions of her privacy.
BACK IN TIMEA tribute to the pioneering fashion photographer Edward Steichen, with Hadid once again as Morehouse, one of Steichen’s muses. Dior Haute Couture dress. Van Cleef & Arpels earrings.
And thats very intense.
A stolen beach day was an aberration, though.
She looks like a slob.
TWO GRANDIn homage to one of Steichen’s most famous images, Hadid poses—front and back—in Dior Haute Couture.
She looks overworked,whatever, Hadid says.
Ive been called every name in the book, she says.
The experience she is describing may have occurred years ago, but it is still raw and painful.
ON LOCATIONThe actor Lewis Pullman, who will appear in Marvel Studios’Thunderboltsthis May, is Steichen, who, as a renowned photographer forVoguein the 1920s and ’30s, was known to transport his large-format camera out of the studio.
I learned the hard way, Hadid says of the access she offered people early in her career.
There were times in the beginning where I gave too much.
(I didnt even reallyknowthose women, she says now.
DETAIL WORK“There were times in the beginning where I gave too much,” says Hadid, reflecting on attention early in her career. Prada dress and shoes. Headpiece sourced from Los Angeles’s vintage boutique Timeless Vixen.
It was such a minute part of my life.)
But there was a time when fame, or even a career in modeling, felt far from inevitable.
(Culinary school was, and actually still is, another possibilityshe loves to cook.)
AT RESTOn motherhood: “You wake up and do your best and you realize it is enough.” Miu Miu dress.
Anything she didand this is a themeshe wanted to do fully.
And Gigi told me one timeIll never forgetIm not tipping, Coach.
She was like, Im going for it.
(Her accuracy, Wexler tells me, was less assured, but it didnt stop her.)
The chemistry was immediate.
Her career started to accelerate.Donatella Versacewas an early champion.
BLUE MOODSchiaparelli Haute Couture dress. Paul Poiret vintage shawl. New York Vintage hat. To get this look, try: Super Stay Lumi-Matte Foundation, The Nudes Eyeshadow Palette, Facestudio Master Blush. All by Maybelline.
Gigi for me has that same spirit.
Weiner and her boyfriend at the time were hanging out, being very rambunctiousveryAlmost Famous, Weiner says.
We put her in my little Chinatown apartment shower.
FLAPPERS AND PHILOSOPHERSHadid and model Neelam Gill in period 1920s dresses sourced from Los Angeles’s vintage boutique Timeless Vixen.
There was hardly any warm water.
Shell always say its the worst shes ever been treated on a shoot, Weiner jokes.
Their friendship has since been girded by creative projects.
My world is centered around creationand, in a completely different medium, so is hers, says Weiner.
Dior Haute Couture dress.
Van Cleef & Arpels earrings.
And then theres the creative care Hadid applies to her personal life, particularly as a mother.
In her bathroom there are plastic tubs filled with toysfor their shower parties.
A nook under a staircase has been converted into a jungle-themed play space, complete with fake vines.
Khais dad is Hadids ex, the singer Zayn Malik, with whom she co-parents.
There is the hard part of the world knowingthis much,and thinking they know everything, says Hadid.
And at the end of the day, were not interested in giving everyone our whole story.
Hello, she says, bending over to peer into it.
Theres a frog friend living down there.
Khai likes to talk to him.
TWO GRANDIn homage to one of Steichens most famous images, Hadid posesfront and backin Dior Haute Couture.
Being a mother has only made her more of herself, says Weiner.
Gigi doesnt want to be in a club in the city on a Tuesday night.
We get the schedule, and were like, Okay, so what are we going to do Monday?
I joke with my mom friends that I feel like the Hannah Montana of fashion, she says.
If you just met me at a photo shoot, you wouldnt see a full depiction of me.
I feel that as a model, Im a performer.
When it comes to Khai, though, she is firm.
We didnt grow up walking out of our house thinking,What angle could someone be watching me from?
And thats not something I want to be part of her train of thought.
The letter did not, of course, change everything.
How much of her daughter to share on her own social media is an internal negotiation.
And I love that.
I love connecting with people….
I am grateful for social media, and the ways that it has connected me to the world.
I wouldnt have the same career without it.
It doesnt come as naturally to me as it did when Instagram started.
I have Khai that week.
Thats just the boundary Ive set.
Khai is protected by our friendships here.
And that means, she pauses, visibly emotional, that means a lot to me.
A humble suggestion for Jon Chu: Cast her in one of the sequels.
Would she try theater?
Its like a dream, she almost whispers, thats scary to say to you.
Where do you go?
You just start talking to people?
And then theres another added layer of privacy and security.
Prada dress and shoes.
Headpiece sourced from Los Angeless vintage boutique Timeless Vixen.
AT RESTOn motherhood: You wake up and do your best and you realize it is enough.
But you just have to let it go; you cant always correct everything.
I just feel really lucky.
Yeah,luckys the word.
For those people you admire to encourage you, it can create so much belief in yourself.
Like, whats the worst thing if I auditioned for this?
You jump and take the leap.
I have always been impressed by Gigi, saysMiuccia Prada,another one of her early champions.
She is incredibly professional and charming at the same time, always in a good mood and gentle.
It is the result of the hard work and the commitment she puts into all she does.
Hadid is shooting thespring-summer looks for Guest in Residence; the new collection will launch just 10 days later.
Today, it is 20-something degrees outside, but a pool day in the studio.
Hadid has layered her own narrative onto the concept.
Hes coming back soon, she croons in falsetto, draping herself over a giant beach ball.
She is a mid-century astronauts wife, gazing up at Sputnik and nursing a martini.
Its a little bit plastic, a little bit Stepford.
Im thinking about the cupcakes, Hadid belts out more than once while the shutter snaps.
Does everyone know that I brought cupcakes?
Guest in Residence employees, from the summer intern turned marketing coordinator to the e-commerce manager, filter in.
Its more like, Were in this together.
Lets talk about the idea.
BLUE MOODSchiaparelli Haute Couture dress.
Paul Poiret vintage shawl.
New York Vintage hat.
A power shouldervery unlike me!
Their relationship, like many of the initially professional relationships Hadid enters, has become personal.
In the midst of it all, Hadid managed to organize a birthday dinner for Raffi.
It was an indication of who she is.
She really pays attention, and she cherishes the team around her, says Raffi.
That makes you feel motivated.
And its also very rare.
Im not a big shopper, she admits.
My wardrobe is really the basics that Ive been reworking.
This was part of the motivation for Guest in Residence, she says.
They look at me like,Does she work here all the time?
(She wont have time, of course.
Her schedule, as I know, has been blocked months in advance.)
It rang those same bells in my brain.
When she texts later, she elaborates a bit more.
FLAPPERS AND PHILOSOPHERSHadid and model Neelam Gill in period 1920s dresses sourced from Los Angeless vintage boutique Timeless Vixen.
Im excited for 30, she says.
After 10 years of doing this job, Im not nervous anymore.
I have to remember that if I feel scared or intimidated, that means Im excited.
And yeah, at this point, why not try?
I think thats a huge lesson that I needed.
And probably one of the reasons that Khai came to me.
You cant always be in control.
You cant always plan.
Now I just give myself the grace and look at how many things Ive handled.
Step by step, I learned.
I got through it.
Produced by AL Studio.
Set Design: Mary Howard.
Location: Alder Manor.
The April issue is here featuring Gigi Hadid.
