Fashion’s Latest Obsession: Nepotism

What a new phenomenon. What a well deserving crowd. Never before in the history of fashion have we experienced so fresh a breath of air.

But it gets better!

[The recent modeling success of other celebrity children] presaged the release this week of a new Gap video campaign featuring Rumer Willis (daughter of Demi Moore), T J Mizell (son of Jam Master Jay), Coco Gordon (daughter of Kim Gordon), Lizzy Jagger (daughter of Mick Jagger), Chelsea Tyler (daughter of Steven Tyler) and Evan Ross (son of Diana Ross) — all of whose famous forebears once upon a time also made their own Gap ads.

Given that the title is “Generation Gap,” and the clothes being worn are all reissued updated versions of 15 staple Gap pieces of the ’90s that their respective parents wore — the black bodysuit, the sleeveless tee, the logo sweatshirt — the connection makes a certain amount of sense. But it also may signal the second, institutionalized phase of what has become a bona fide cross-border fashion phenomenon.

“We call it the ‘children of,’” said Stefano Tonchi, the editor of W, who happened to have just shot Brandon Thomas Lee (son of Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson) and Nyima Ward (the model Trish Goff’s son) among others for the April issue.

Aren’t you so glad that we finally have created a culture of nepotism in the fashion business? Can’t wait for this trend to touch other industries—showbiz, you’re next!

“Regardless of what we do in life, every article starts with ‘daughter of,’” new Gap model Rumer Willis, daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, told the Times. “We were all talking about it during the Gap shoot. You can fight that, or accept it and appreciate it. Personally, I love the idea of being a part of something my parents were part of but putting my own spin on it.”

So freakin’ brave.

Best of luck to these bold pioneers. May they all have illustrious modeling careers until they get bored of it and want to try something else, like DJing or purse design.