Kaia Gerber’s Alaïa Look Is Worthy of a ’90s Supermodel

Last night in Los Angeles, the who’s who of Hollywood came out to attend the 2nd Annual Academy Museum Gala. The glittering array of superstars celebrated the museum’s work to preserve film history—and paraded down the red carpet in all their high fashion finery. But one of the most striking looks of the evening came from a fashion phenomenon in her own right: the 21-year-old model Kaia Gerber.

The slinky black Alaïa outfit—consisting of a draped skirt and a sheer turtleneck—first debuted on the runway by the house’s creative director Pieter Mulier for the spring 2023 collection back in July. (Working with stylist Danielle Goldberg, Gerber wore it without any jewelry and with her hair styled in a simple wavy blowout.) But just as striking as Gerber’s tastefully minimalist take on the look was her uncanny resemblance to another Alaïa muse from decades past: her own mother, Cindy Crawford.

Throughout the late ’80s and early ‘90s, Crawford could be regularly spotted on the Paris runways modeling for the house’s founder, Azzedine Alaïa, often wearing the designer’s signature all-black, figure-hugging designs whose influence can be keenly felt in Mulier’s work today. (Crawford and Gerber also clearly share a mutual appreciation for Alaïa, having attended the opening of an exhibition dedicated to his work in Paris last year together.) Still, while Gerber’s look last night may have been more than befitting of a ’90s supermodel, with her pared-back styling and insouciant spirit, she made it feel of the moment—and entirely her own.