Gigi Hadid's Uber-Serious Fashion Mood by Collier Schorr for Harper's Bazaar US

Supermodel Gigi Hadid covers the August 2021 issue of Harper’s Bazaar US. Hadid wears dour-looking clothes in a fashion story styled by Ludivine Poiblanc. “Come’on, Anne. Chin up, girl. It’s only fashion. “

Sorry. Gigi looks dour. The clothes are dour. The images by Collier Schorr are dour. Everything is dour, dour, dour. Durga Chew-Bose’s interview with Gigi is not dour.

Are we in London during WWII and bombs are falling everywhere? I know It’s really bad out there in America, wondering whether our already-imperfect democracy will even survive another five years in this country

But we’re not the Kurdish women soldiers, abandoned by the Trump administration, and left to fight an incalculably dangerous war along Syria’s northeastern border. Or the Afghan school girls, who are about to die at the hands of the Taliban.

We’re not the Democratic house and senate members of the Texas legislature who have fled the state, denying a quorum to pass an absurdly evil set of new restrictions on voting. Some of those public office patriots don’t even know how they will pay their rent, being out of Texas and not at work for three weeks.

Between the depressingly dour fashion story and the subheadline: “At 26, Gigi Hadid isn’t done playing the role of supermodel. But with a new baby , new priorities, and a new regard for her own mental health”, she’s carving out space to do it on her own terms” — Harper’s Bazaar had me genuinely worried about Hadid.

AOC has been ferociously supportive of Gigi Hadid from the first day. We don’t specialize in armchair criticism of models. I can name three situations where Gigi was in the hot seat, and we defended her. Think fortune cookies and a plane ticket cancelled for Shanghai.

With Anne of Carversville birthed about a mile from Gigi’s house, I know that one must work really hard as a model to be so dour and glum, mentally infused with Buck’s County beauty and serenity in her neighborhood.

I left Gigi’s Instagram a couple weeks ago, and she was deliriously happy over vegetable-dyed pasta, so I don’t know what the heck happened.

Wait up, here. I’m looking at a short video of the shoot, and Gigi Hadid looks delightfully happy and serene. In the video she doesn’t look dour at all.

Deciding to feature Gigi Hadid as all doom and gloom was an executive decision. It’s as if she and Collier Schor were having all kinds of fun and a voice from the heavens said “WHY ARE YOU TWO JUMPING FOR JOY IN MY PHOTO SHOOT!!!”.

If you went to Catholic School, you know that moment when Sister Magdalena just glowers at you and she will ring up the priest and say “When that uppidity little Anne Enke comes to confession on Saturday, make her say the rosary three times for her penance. We want those knees to be sore.”

In her interview, Gigi shares insights into the family dynamic, in a way I don’t remember reading. She’s reflective about her own mannerisms and way of communicating, and does differentiate between herself and sister Bella. Of course Gigi talks about race.

Some AOC readers may not know that when Gigi, Bella, and Dua Lipa took a strong stand on their support for Palestine in the recent conflict, a full-page ad ran in The New York Times condemning Gigi, Bella, and Dua Lipa [brother Anwar’s girlfriend] for that support of their own heritage.

In spite of the subhead, Gigi Hadid doesn’t spent much time talking about her mental health. I can imagine the Page Six, NY Post headline: “Gigi Hadid confesses to being mentally deranged over the responsibilities of motherhood and emotionally distraught as well in her marriage.” She does NONE of that.

Hadid does share an interesting psychological story of keeping multiple journals. “During my pregnancy, I had one journal that I called my good journal and one journal that I called my bad journal. They weren’t that literal, but one was more for the memories, for Khai. Maybe one day I’ll give her the bad journal just to be real about it.”

What was inside the “bad” journal?

“Anxieties and days where I felt like, ‘Am I good enough to be a mom?’” she says. “I didn’t want to feel guilty about feeling those things or writing those things down. I just liked the separation. . . . “

THOSE are the words of a thoughtful, resourceful young woman with major psychological insights about the human condition and how it works for us and against us simultaneously.

Okay, now that Gigi Hadid has done her fashion industry duty, can she lighten up for the next round of fashion shoots? Pretty, please? She’s had an uber-serious run in fashion magazines in recent months.