Bella Hadid: I Can’t Keep Comparing Myself to Gigi
Bella Hadid in the November 2015 issue of Seventeen. (Photo: Alexei Hay/Seventeen)
In the era of social media models, 19-year-old Bella Hadid is making her mark and quickly catching up to big sister Gigi Hadid, who is currently leading the pack. But that’s the most we’ll compare the two, because the sisters have heard it all and don’t want to participate in the competition. “People love to compare and contrast us — what’s better about her or what’s not that good about me — and it’s hard because people are really mean,” says Bella Hadid in the November issue of Seventeen. “But I’m her biggest supporter, and she’s my biggest supporter. We’re not competitive at all.”
With rumors of a family feud at New York Fashion Week and regular “who wore it better” polls comparing the Hadid sisters, Bella manages the media-imposed tension with a classic approach to the inherent competition of sisterhood: “I just have to remind myself that she’s been doing this forever. I can’t keep comparing myself to her because we’re so different.”
Hadid on the November 2015 cover of Seventeen. (Photo: Alexei Hay/Seventeen)
Both sisters are making waves in the modeling industry with their curvier than the industry norm body types, and have struggled to gain entry while defying the standard. Gigi’s athletic body type and history playing volleyball meant coping with rejection from agencies in her early modeling days. Now, Bella faces a similar struggle, telling Seventeen that she eats a lot of “really unhealthy food.” “I definitely gain weight and I’m not naturally thin. I’m really self-conscious if I go to trainers, so I just do stuff on my own,” says the model. “I go on the treadmill or do yoga and Pilates if I can.“ Bella is currently pursuing a spot on the 2016 U.S. Olympic team for equestrian show jumping, and it’s safe to say she maintains a high level of fitness.
Bella and Gigi Hadid in Balmain’s fall 2015 campaign. (Photo: Balmain)
Over the last year, the fashion industry has made room for the duo with a joint V Magazine cover, Balmain campaign (joining Kendall and Kylie Jenner), and spots walking in the Tommy Hilfiger, Jeremy Scott, and DVF fashion shows under their communal belt. The sisters are at the forefront of the movement towards a fashion industry that features more diverse body types, and Bella Hadid has proven she is more than just Gigi’s little sister.
The November issue of Seventeen will be on newsstands October 20th.
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