Gigi Hadid is busy dreaming of the perfect co-parented Christmas.
The supermodel, 29, tells me that she has “been scheming hard” with her ex-partner Zayn Malik, and is audibly excited about making the holidays the best possible for the pair’s four-year-old daughter Khai.
“Everything’s more special seeing it through her eyes,” she continues. “This year, Zayn and I are in cahoots starting Elf on the Shelf,” she says, discussing the tradition in which parents set up a toy elf “causing chaos in the house” each night, for children to discover in the morning.
(Matteo Montanari)
Hadid’s LA twang gets bouncier as she begins to unpack the rest of her festive plans. She will host the celebrations at her farmhouse in Pennsylvania — something she “has been doing for years”. You bet it’s an A-list affair: her mother, Dutch-American former model Yolanda Hadid, sister, model Bella, brother, model and actor Anwar… before she trails off, saying, “then we always end up having extra people.” Whether or not her boyfriend since October last year, Bradley Cooper, will appear remains to be seen.
Either way, Hadid is prepared to go rogue. “For 10 years we’ve done gingerbread house decorating on Christmas Eve, but I might switch it up,” she says. Dua Lipa joined them for this tradition in 2020, when she was going out with Anwar. “I might get into trouble, but I’m the host.”
It is also the first year she will turn her back on matching pyjamas in favour of themed sets. “They’re all cowboy-related this year, which is fun,” she says. Makes sense. 2024 was undeniably the year of cowboycore, led by Beyoncé’s country album, and Hadid’s sister, Bella, who started a relationship with an actual cowboy, Mexican-American horse trainer Adan Banuelos.
Holidays with the Hadids! Yolanda, Anwar, Bella and Gigi (@gigihadid)
For most of the winter months, however, you can expect to find Hadid not in silk chaps but bundled in cashmere of her own design. In August of 2022 she founded Guest in Residence, a 100 per cent cashmere line which began with a core selection of the cable knits and joggers you might expect, as well as rugby shirts which have become a staple. Two years on, it offers jacquard vests, plaid shirts, puffer jackets … you name it, she can produce it in butter-soft fibres from £92.
It continues to expand: in the UK, you can find the brand in Selfridges, Harrods and on Net-a-Porter. The end of this year has seen her open a shop in LA, which joins the flagship on Bond Street, New York, moments from her (currently rat infested) city pad. “I love having our office and store in New York so close to me that I can go check in weekly. I know everyone that works there,” she says. “But I have to let the baby expand now, and trust that the people we have trained all have the same goals.”
(Matteo Montanari)
She created the label with the intention of making “cashmere heirlooms for people who want to invest in pieces that they love for more than just being a trend.” Even though the striped rugger gear has become one of the most hyped items this year, it’s true that anything made from the coveted wool will struggle to go out of style.
“The weight of the piece is what makes it valuable because each fibre of cashmere is what you’re investing in,” she says. As for stocking up your wardrobe: “Colour is so important: everyone should invest in their favourite neutrals. We’ll continue throughout the seasons to launch favourite pieces in new colours.” These span hot pinks and cobalt blue. “They are funky classics.”
Smart additions to skiing wardrobes are another speciality. Importantly, both “things that are for being fabulous in the snow near the slopes, and others that are a little bit more useful if you are trying to be athletic,” she says. Hadid admits she is an excellent “lifelong” skier, but notes: “I have been modelling and on heels probably more than anyone should in their lifetime and my knees and my ankles are getting older.”
(Matteo Montanari)
By way of first hand experience in the rag trade, Hadid has more than most. She was born in LA to Mohamed Hadid, the Palestinian real estate developer known for his uber-luxe hotels and mansions, and Yolanda, before starting her career aged two as a face of Baby Guess. She had her New York Fashion Week break in 2014, and went on to storm the industry.
In 2016 she won International Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards and was tapped as an ambassador for Tommy Hilfiger, which would go on to become the Tommy x Gigi line which ran over four collections. She remains one of the world’s highest paid models, and continues to walk: this year for the likes of Miu Miu, Versace, Chanel and Victoria’s Secret.
Gigi Hadid walks the runway during the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show (AP)
“I was really lucky in the early days to work with all types of designers,” she says. “When I put on an outfit at work, it’s my job to sell that and to pay attention to the details: what makes it special? What’s not great about this piece? It’s a loss of an education if you’re a model and you’re not paying attention to that stuff.”
So, she muses, “Guest in Residence is really just a culmination of all of the experiences and the people that I’ve been blessed to watch and know.” Her two professional heroes are Hilfiger and Virgil Abloh, the latter who helped her with the initial concepts of her label before he passed away in 2021. “He saw me as creative. When someone you respect and admire sees you in that way, it can be life-changing,” she says.
You can be sure she’ll be wearing her own label on the big day and a great deal of her 78m Instagram followers will be hoping for it under the tree, too. Hadid has “started all the designing for next winter” already, however. As for the rest of her goals for 2025? “I’m not really a New Year’s resolution type gal,” she says. “I just keep the good things rolling, and leave the bad energy, or people, behind.”
Guest in Residence, from £92, guestinresidence.com