Dominique Charriau/WireImageIt's Bella Hadid's year.
The 19-year-old model was just named the new face of Dior beauty, a major feat for any industry pro. In the past six months alone, the star has come into her own as fashion's edgy It Girl, nailing a slew of campaign deals, winning a modeling award and inspiring style fans with her moody-but-relatable take on trends.
She's one to watch—and, yet, she's still referred to as "Gigi Hadid's Little Sister" in headlines. While that's true and the pair revel in their sibling bond, dubbing Bella as such takes credit away from her many accomplishments.
So, without further ado, my case for calling Bella Hadid as just Bella Hadid.
Let's Not Compare Gigi and Bella: A year ago, Bella was still working her way up the ranks, and fashion bloggers and editors correctly introduced her as "Gigi Hadid's little sister" then. This year, however, given her rising star, Bella's name should be all you need. I know the Gigi reference is used as an identifier, a way to avoid repetitive pronouns and, sometimes, an association tactic to one of the biggest celebrities in the world (full disclosure: I was once guilty of this)—but Bella is so much more.
That's not to say mentioning Gigi is wrong, but it should be used as additional information rather than the primary attribute. Call it semantics, but there's an undertone of sibling superiority there. We don't address Kate Mara as Rooney's sister (or vice versa) in headlines, after all. Just because Gigi may always be trending on Google, doesn't mean we should forfeit a name for traffic wins.
Don't get it wrong—my obsession for Gigi is unreal. But when it comes to the fashion at hand and, more importantly, their sense of style, to each their own.
Bella's Style Speaks for Itself: There's millennial-age angst in her casual wardrobe choices. She keeps her look simple, often wearing a black outfit paired with a sleek hairstyle, or "bad-girl minimalism," as Vogue recently called it. Like most models, Bella has adopted an off-duty uniform, but the subtle differences in the details (bomber jackets, dainty jewelry, etc.) have given her major street-style cred.
In fact, Bella was one of the first to add a little urban appeal to the standard model-off-duty look, infusing sportswear brands into the mix even before athleisure was a thing. She helped make Adidas shirt dresses and track jackets relevant again. Translation: She knows how to make even the most mainstream trend her own. (See: her Coachella-ready body chains as evidence.) Even on red carpets, the beauty defers to simple-yet-strikingly sexy silhouettes. A red slip dress? Let's make the slit sky-high. Like a true trendsetter, the model knows how to make an impact without trying too hard.
Her Résumé Speaks for Itself: This year alone, Bella has already fronted campaigns for Topshop, Joe's Jeans, Marc Jacobs and walked the runways of Tommy Hilfiger, Miu Miu and Chanel. Rihanna even tapped the model for her Fenty x Puma by Rihanna fall 2016 show. She won the Daily Front Row's Fashion LA Awards' Model of the Year, landed her first Vogue Turkey cover, and now, she joins the Dior family, alongside heavy hitters such as Jennifer Lawrence and Natalie Portman.
If her accomplishments alone don't give her name respect, there's really no point in going on.