Installment #1 in a new DerekPlease blog series - Me. I Am Derek... The Elusive Pop Sleuth - Observations on growing trends in the American zeitgeist.
Nepotism is the chicest thing on the runway and in the pages of Vogue in these, the last years of the 2010s. The junior Kardashian sisters, Kendall Jenner & Kylie Jenner, set this trend thanks in no small part to the evil genius their "momager" (mom + manager), Kris Jenner.
Now you can't throw a stick without seeing their "good sister, bad sister" image and "traditional model; InstaSnap model" formula all over; just look at sisters like Gigi Hadid & Bella Hadid (parents business tycoon Mohammed Hadid and former model and former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Yolanda Hadid [née an den Herik, previously Foster;]), or Delilah Belle Hamlin & Amelia Gray Hamlin, daughters of Harry Hamlin & Lisa Rinna.
So where are the male counterparts? Frankly, fashion still doesn't give a damn about them. Sure, there are hangers on like third Hadid sibling Anwar Hadid, but fashion usually sticks with pop stars like Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes, or the Jonas Brothers like Joe Jonas or Nick Jonas (sorry Kevin) when they're looking for a notable male model.
The "momagers" with sons are trying to pimp out their sons, though. Kris Jenner helped establish son Rob Kardashian's "Arthur George" high fashion sock line; Yolanda Hadid is getting son Anwar Hadid on Fashion Week runways. Rocco Ritchie (son of Queen of Pop Madonna & King Arthur director Guy Ritchie) seems to be making a bid as well, pictured here working for Adidas.
Will organic models - without famous parents - ever rise again? There are definitely some out there, but they didn't really do it on their own. Karlie Kloss has BFF Taylor Swift to thank for much of her buzz. Plus sized beauty Ashley Graham is the closest we have to a traditional discovered-overnight model, in the vein of legends Tyra Banks and Naomi Campbell.