In a reversal of the norm, thus far at the spring/summer 2025 shows, we’ve seen more of Bella than we have of Gigi. (Hadid, the Younger might still be eschewing runways proper, but she did, at least, make a cameo on Gansevoort Street for the premiere of boyfriend Adan Banuelos’s documentary short, Horse Sense – albeit in an outfit that felt more Fort Worth than front row.) Gigi, however, has simply been busy: launching a Caviar Kaspia X Guest in Residence collection, celebrating daughter Khai’s 4th birthday with a Baby Yoda “May the FOURce be with you” cake, and trying to identity the bearded guy sitting next to Camila Cabello at Off-White.
Happily, Donatella convinced the 29-year-old to trade Pennsylvania for Porta Nuova this week, with Gigi joining fellow new-gen supers Vittoria Ceretti and Mona Tougaard on the catwalk for Versace’s spring/summer 2025 show at Sforzesco Castle. There were distinct ’70s vibes, there were extremely high-maintenance fringes, and there was Channing Tatum flying solo on the front row, looking like such a good boy!.
Gigi’s relationship with the Italian house can be traced back to autumn/winter 2016 – a collection that, Vogue trumpeted, brought the “sexiness” back to Versace. “I love mixing the cool girls with the reality girls,” Donatella explained of her then-surprising casting decision. (Kendall Jenner, just out of her teens, also walked.) “It’s about a woman’s power – for every kind of woman!” Cut to spring/summer 2021, and Hadid, fresh from maternity leave, made her runway return in the 3D maze constructed for Donatella’s “inaugural digital showcase”, Gigi’s golden hair dyed auburn for the occasion. (We all made mistakes in the pandemic.)
Of course, Hadid was among the constellation of stars chosen to model the Fendace collab for pre-fall 2022, too – not to mention her turn with Bella (but without eyebrows) for autumn/winter 2022 proper, and her starring role in Versace’s takeover of LA’s Pacific Design Center for autumn/winter 2023. World, Gigi loves you – but she’s chosen Versace.