Parents Were Sitting Front Row to Cheer Them On
You scroll through your feed
during fashion month and something feels different. The faces in
the front rows look familiar, but younger. The last names are the
same ones you have been reading about for decades, yet the first
names are brand new. This season in Paris, the children of
Hollywood and European royalty did not just tag along – they
commanded the spotlight. And more often than not, their legendary
parents seemed perfectly content playing the supporting
role.
From catwalks to courtside seats, a generational shift in
Paris
Since September 28, the streets
of the French capital have been buzzing with Paris
Fashion Week energy, drawing the most in-demand
international celebrities of our time. But this season marked a
noticeable tipping point. The so-called nepo babies were not merely
sitting beside their famous mothers and fathers – they were walking
runways and anchoring front rows on their own terms.
The most talked-about debut
belonged to Apple Martin, daughter of Gwyneth Paltrow. The
22-year-old model stepped onto a runway for the very first time in
her career, and she did it for Chloé, no less, wearing a
bohemian-chic dress that immediately became one of the week’s most
photographed moments. Meanwhile, Ella Bleu Travolta, daughter of
John Travolta, graced the Miu Miu catwalk on Sunday alongside a
five-star cast that included Gigi Hadid, Olivia Colman, and Emma
Corrin. Could two runway appearances in a single week signal that
the next generation is ready to own the fashion conversation
entirely?
The front row belonged to them
If the catwalks were impressive,
the front rows told an even bigger story. Lila Moss, now a fixture
at various Fashion Weeks around the world, showed up at both the
Saint Laurent show and the H&M x Elie Saab event, sporting
dark, minimalist silhouettes that echoed her mother’s signature
style. Iris Law, daughter of Jude Law, attended those same two
Parisian evenings and added the Isabel Marant show at the Palais
Royal courtyard on Thursday, October 1. Georgia May Jagger,
daughter of Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall, also made a point of
checking out Anthony Vaccarello’s work as artistic director of
Saint Laurent – a show that clearly drew fashion’s most connected
offspring.
On the French side, the takeover
was just as pronounced. Laura Smet turned heads at Balmain in
leopard-print trousers. Suzanne Lindon chose a croc-effect skirt
for Miu Miu. And Nine d’Urso, daughter of Ines de la Fressange,
brought effortless Parisian cool to Christian Dior in a
blazer-and-ripped-jeans combination. The Cassel sisters, Deva and
Leonie, split up for maximum impact: the elder attended the Dior
show, where she serves as the house’s ambassador, while the younger
opted for the Roger Vivier spring-summer 2027 presentation. Solo
appearances like these break the usual pattern, since nepo babies
are more commonly seen with a parent in tow.
When mom and dad become the plus-one
And yet, some of the sweetest
moments of the week happened precisely when parent and child
arrived together – except this time, you could feel the dynamic had
flipped. Lou Sulola Samuel, just 16 years old, made a rare and
striking entrance on the arm of her mother, Heidi Klum, at the
Vivienne Westwood show on Saturday. Julianne Moore seized her
invitation to the new Messika collection on October 1 as a
mother-daughter outing with Liv Freundlich, who then attended the
Loewe show solo the following day. At that same Loewe event, Nell
Burton and her father, Tim Burton, were also among the
guests.
Lolita Chammah posed alongside
her mother, Isabelle Huppert, at Balenciaga, wearing a forest-green
skirt covered in glittering rhinestones. Joy Hallyday appeared
arm-in-arm with Laeticia Hallyday to take in Anthony Vaccarello’s
vision at Saint Laurent. Billy Blanchard, a social media favorite
since the previous Fashion Week and still only 15 years old, stole
the show yet again – this time in sky-high heels. He attended the
Christian Louboutin show with his mother, Julie Depardieu, and the
Jean Paul Gaultier show with his father, Philippe Katerine,
spreading infectious energy and exuberant outfits to the fans
waiting outside each venue. Nicole Kidman and her daughter Faith
arrived at the spring-summer 2027 collection by Matthieu Blazy,
artistic director of Chanel, in coordinated gray outfits – a
bonding ritual that has become a tradition for the Kidman
women.
A new guard, whether we are ready or not
What this
Paris season made undeniably clear is that the next
generation is no longer content with borrowed clout. These young
names are building their own fashion identities – walking runways,
curating front-row wardrobes, and in some cases outshining the very
parents who opened the doors for them. Whether you find the
phenomenon thrilling or complicated, one thing is certain: the era
of the nepo baby as a mere accessory is over. They are the main
event now, and their famous parents seem happy enough to take the
seat next to them.
