More often than I’d like to admit, a new rising star hits the runway and causes a stir - then, a quick Google search reveals their parentage, resulting in a sigh: “I should have known!” Blessed with good genes and a mansion as their family home, nepotism babies have long been the subject of controversy in the fashion industry.

Lila Moss and Kaia Gerber, daughters of 90s supermodels Kate Moss and Cindy Crawford, are constantly criticised against the benchmark of their mothers. Expectations are high for the children of icons of a bygone era that the industry constantly wants to emulate. Even mysterious, charismatic models with undeniably good style like Lily-Rose Depp and Zoe Kravitz have A-list connections. Can anyone make it alone? Where are the self-made models? And if we were nepo babies ourselves, can we be sure that we wouldn’t use ready-made connections to get into our dream industry?

Nepotism is more than accepted in fashion - it’s celebrated and rewarded. “My mum has worked with [Chanel] since she was 18 and I’ve gone to the store with her since I was little,” says Lily-Rose Depp, face of Chanel just like her mother Vanessa Paradis years earlier. We must ask how likely it would be for any other 5”3 model to be the face of Chanel - and for her first campaign nonetheless. Criticism also fell on Dazed magazine for featuring 16-year-old Lila Moss as their cover star. Presented to us as destined to fill her mother’s boots, and yet criticised for her walk, the cover was branded ‘16 years in the making.’ Lila’s dad is Dazed’s CEO and co-founder, Jefferson Hack, the stylist for the shoot was her godmother Katy England, and Lila is signed to the modelling agency owned by her mother. Nepotism is staring us right in the face.

“What made Kendall so special - was it simply her last name?”

Infamous for being tone-deaf, some nepo babies make blatant their extreme privilege– Kendall Jenner’s notorious Pepsi advert, and with her saying having famous parents made her career harder. Jenner described her modelling career in an interview with LOVE Magazine: “Since the beginning, we’ve been super selective about what shows I would do… I was never one of those girls who would do like 30 shows a season or whatever the f*** those girls do. More power to ’em. But I had a million jobs, not only catwalks but everything else. The whole combination was very overwhelming and I started to freak out a little bit and needed to take a step back.” Thousands of girls would leap at the chance for these jobs. Where was Kendall’s gratitude or work ethic? What made Kendall so special - was it simply her last name?

On the cover of Vogue, which their connections help to secure, nepo babies are very eager to appear relatable. In her latest Vogue cover, street style icon Bella Hadid revealed, “​​I always felt like I had something to prove [...] in seven years I never missed a job, cancelled a job, was late to a job. No one can ever say that I don’t work my ass off.” On leaving home and going to university, she comments: “The girls on the other side of L.A. it was about a platform Louboutin and an Hermès bag. I thought to myself, I could never ask my parents for that. If I asked, I wouldn’t get it.” Eye roll. Poor Bella missing out on her Hermès bag!

But we can’t forget that modelling is a cut-throat world. Growing up privileged does not mean that you are immune to insecurities, especially when your work depends on your appearance. Bella has spoken out about plastic surgery regrets, chronic health issues and self esteem issues. She and her sister Gigi have donated their fashion week earnings to support Ukraine and Palestine. However, Vogue could have chosen someone completely self-made for the cover: take Ashley Graham, body-positive advocate who was scouted in a mall, or Imaan Hamman, who speaks out on opening industry doors for Arabic girls and volunteers in a New York food kitchen. 

“Growing up privileged does not mean that you are immune to insecurities”

I don’t have a problem with nepo babies using their platform for good. Take model Adwoa Aboah, the daughter of model location scout Charles Aboah and Camilla Lowther, who runs one of the most successful creative industry management agencies in the world. Adwoa created Gurls Talk, a platform for young women to talk about mental health after her own struggles with depression and addiction.

The monopolisation of the industry by the nepo babies is a huge problem because of our fixation with celebrity culture. Instagram follower counts are now held to the same level of importance as a portfolio of modelling work. Brands jump at the chance to work with them and their audience, pre-built because of their star-studded surname. Even if nepo babies use their platforms for good, it still makes the world of fashion further away for people with absolutely zero connections. Picking up another magazine with Kendall Jenner on the cover taunts that you probably won’t ever make it. 

Even if we all secretly wish we could be nepo babies, born into a  dynasty for us to fall back on, let’s look to people who can give us more than a famous last name. Winnie Harlow, Lina Cruz, HoYeon Jung, Hunter Schafer, América Gonzalez, Quannah Chasinghorse… the list goes on, if you know where to look. An industry obsessed with lineage can be turned around. By focusing on the self-made stars of tomorrow, we will reframe what today’s it-girls look like.