Gigi Hadid Is Sexy Cozy, Lensed by Mario Sorrenti for ELLE US March 2023

Adrienne Gaffney talks fashion’s it-woman Gigi Hadid through her quest “to find ways of working that help her feel whole” and to show the world elements of herself absent from her editorial or celeb images.

Gigi Hadid makes news wherever she goes, and it’s a wonderful story about a wonderful woman, mom, friend, model and an all-around great asset to our industry.

The Gigi Hadid You Don’t Know

The answer to this therapeutic quest for identity — ‘The Gigi Hadid You Don’t Know’ — comes in the second paragraph of Hadid’s interview. Let me guess. We’re going to talk about ‘Guest In Residence’.

How about talking how great Gigi looks in Mario Sorrenti’s [IG] images!

No deal — although Gigi has been looking spectacularly sensual and centered lately. We are talking business, folks.

Gigi’s passion ‘Guest In Residence’ is a line of “cashmere classics with a spin, built around the idea that key staples meant to be kept and worn for years are inherently sustainable.”

Case closed in Gigi’s mind.

The Cashmere Case Is Not Closed

Except the case is not closed about cashmere, and most of us professionals know that fact.

I reached out to ‘Guest In Residence’ last September once the website was live. Enchanted myself by the great colorways and fun design attitude, I didn’t find the word ‘sustainability’ on the website — not even the packaging and shipping box. Nothing. There was no response to my request to talk about sustainability from Gigi’s perspective.

I was confused because Gigi’s favorite cashmere brands a few years back — ones she made successful just by wearing them — all had a strong sustainability focus more in keeping with emerging standards and practices — including using recycled cashmere.

So the topic has floated for months now like a hot potato in my brain. Coincidentally, I’ve been queried about my own process of deciding when I will raise my sustainability concerns flag and when I give people a pass in fashion world.

I’ve let the most recent query simmer since before Christmas — even though this young person creative has hit the top of the queue button so I don’t forget that I owe her an answer about my own ethical process as a writer. She’s not letting me off the hook — goddess love her.

I feel that Gigi Hadid set the stage here, making her business the focus of her interview about identity.

I will not express any further personal opinions in this post. In fact, I will just cut this post short. But I do feel an obligation to address the issue of cashmere’s inherent sustainabiity or I won’t be able to live with myself.

In December 2022, Victoria’s Secret Banned Cashmere

On December 5, 2022 my decade-long alma mater as fashion director and head of product development Victoria’s Secret announced a ban on cashmere for both VS and Pink worldwide. I have to assume that Bella told her sister, being a member of the VS Collective.

Patagonia banned cashmere in 2019 but now uses 95% recycled cashmere. Everlane, Stella McCartney, Reformation, Riley Studio, Cuyana, Sphere One, and Eileen Fisher all use recycled cashmere. I believe the lowest blend is 80% recycled fibers.

Reformation proudly says that recycled cashmere has 80% less of an environmental impact than the new cashmere – but looks just as fabulous.

Enough cashmere talk. I will add articles at the end of this post.

At least I’ve dealt with a topic that has really bothered me for months now, and the goats can thank a young female New York photographer for giving me a nudge on values and how do I deal with the obvious contradictions that I face.

Note that she was very nice . . .. but direct . . . and persistent. You know that bad-ass woman phrase “Still, she persisted.” She’s one of those types.

If I was drinking in February, I would have a martini . . right now. I would probably have two martinis.

The facts are, though, that I did reach out to ‘Guest in Residence’, telling them who I was and about AOC. I gave them links to articles already written about cashmere.

They knew I wasn’t PETA, and I stressed how much I love Gigi. Carversville is down the road from her. Like two miles. Bucks County is in my blood.

Alas, no martinis tonight.

As it is, I’ve turned my body over to a Pfizer new drugs science unit and will have blood drawn on March 1 for my current project — the new flu vaccine with a COVID component. They learn everything about your health, so you become an ongoing test subject that is segregated in a special group with history of how we responded to other Pfizer trials.

I’m so concerned about the Maga pushback on science that when they reached out to me directly, I said:

“Yes. Whatever you want, I will do it . . . for our kids and their futures, because I am very nervous about this self-serving, anti-science, anti-facts mentality the Maga crowd has going on. We have to stand up and put our foot down. So give me the jab.” ~ Anne

Mandkhai

Gigi Hadid’s Favourite Cashmere Comes With A Sustainable Caveat Vogue UK Nov. 2018

So, where to go for ethically-sourced, sustainably-produced cashmere as temperatures in the UK drop? Try Mandkhai, a newish brand by Mandkhai Jargalsaikhan, which specialises in goat-to-garment transparency, not to mention deliciously soft cashmere. The 30-year-old designer knows her wool: she is Mongolian, and her parents were the first family to set up shop in post-Communist Mongolia twenty-five years ago, with a cashmere factory.

Mandkhai designs are as cosy and comforting as one would expect – and Gigi Hadid is a fan. The model has been regularly spotted in New York swaddled in her chunky mocha-hued, Mandkhai ribbed cashmere coat. “People think we paid her – but we loaned a sample via our PR company and she must just like it,” Jargalsaikhan says. “My dad doesn’t know who she is, but we see a spike in sales on our website every time she wears it!”

Public Habit

Get To Know Public Habit, The Sustainable Cashmere Label Loved By Gigi Hadid, Hailey Bieber & Miranda Kerr Vogue UK April 2021

The pandemic may have led to a surge in loungewear purchases over the past year, but that desire for comfort isn’t going anywhere as we begin to re-emerge from our homes. Just ask Gigi Hadid, who recently stepped out in cashmere co-ords for a walk in Manhattan with her baby daughter Khai, providing a masterclass in how to transition loungewear into everyday wear.

Happily, this particular cashmere loungewear set by Seattle-based brand Public Habit – which also counts Hailey Bieber (who describes the cashmere as “cosy and delicious”) and Miranda Kerr among its fans — comes with some serious sustainability credentials, too. Co-created by journalist, director and Vogue contributor Sophia Li, the two-piece is made from traceable cashmere from Mongolia that’s OEKO-TEX certified (meaning it doesn’t contain any harmful chemicals) and, crucially, is designed to last. 

Naked Cashmere

Gigi Hadid: Cashmere Turtleneck and Joggers Oct. 2019

Gigi Hadid was spotted out and about in Manhattan wearing a Capri Cropped Turtleneck ($275.00) and Charlotte Joggers ($250.00) by Naked Cashmere.

Naked Cashmere Just Launched Its First-Ever Recycled Cashmere Collection For Women Forbes March 2020

Luxury direct-to-consumer brand NAKED CASHMERE just recently launched CASHMERE REBORN for Spring 2020, the company’s first-ever recycled collection for women that continues the brand’s sustainability efforts. Constructed from post-consumer yarn that’s sorted by fiber length, shredded, and then re-spun back into 100% cashmere yarn, this recycled collection allows consumers to wear cashmere with significantly less impact on the environment.

“It was a little tricky for us, as most recycled cashmere is not 100% recycled,” President & Creative Director of NAKED CASHMERE, Leslie Gifford tells me when I ask how hard recycled cashmere is to source. “Generally you can find 90% recycled cashmere with 10% either wool or 10%-40% virgin cashmere. To get 100% recycled cashmere, you have to be able to sort the fibers to assure using the longest fibers. The companies that don’t sort the fiber-by-fiber length can’t offer 100% cashmere. Our reborn cashmere is GRS (Global Recycle Standard) certified and 100% cashmere.”