Today we are discussing how the fashion world has heavily tried to disguise and evade the truth for many seasons now. Each time we are able to view the top models on the runway that dominate the industry, we see the same names and same faces. This has created a trend where Bella Hadid has received a far greater number of contracts than other models due to the same people continuously working and being on magazine covers/luxury campaigns. However, does that make Bella Hadid a “Supermodel?” Or, could you call her that if she were only a model and not receiving these contracts?
This isn’t about hating someone for being attractive, successful or for working hard when they didn’t need to. This is about a greater discussion – the one the fashion industry needs to have about what the definition of a supermodel is in 2022 and if that word even has a true meaning anymore.
What Does “Supermodel” Even Mean Anymore?
In a time long-ago, the term “supermodel” did not automatically belong to people. True supermodels work patiently for many years, building up their reputations through versatility, hard work, and an incredible charisma that literally stops you in your tracks. When one thinks of what supermodels are capable of, one could picture Naomi Campbell prowling down a runway as if she owned this planet. Consider also women like Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, and Christy Turlington. Their faces and bodies defined how we think about fashion, beauty, and what was fashionable during the late 1980s and early 1990s; far before any other fashions existed.
Today, you would conjure images of supermodels like Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Cindy Crawford, Tyra Banks, Christy Turlington, and Gisele Bündchen; each women changed what was considered fashionable, re-defined what it means to be a supermodel, and did not need the name to become successful.
How are we now using the word supermodel for people who were born with the proverbial golden key? We should all take pause and question whether we are really using the term “supermodel” correctly for those people becoming supermodels.
The Nepo Baby Conversation Nobody Wants to Finish
Here’s the part people get uncomfortable about, but let’s just say it: Bella Hadid is a nepo baby, and that matters in this conversation.
The Hadid sisters (Gigi and Bella) completely represent the definition of modelling nepotism. Gigi and Bella, who are the daughters of real estate tycoon Mohamed Hadid and former model Yolanda Hadid, were raised to be supermodels and controlled by Yolanda in every way (including food) from the time they were children.
To give Bella credit, at least she has never fully pretended otherwise, as evidenced by the Vogue incident in 2021 where she claimed she had “never owned any designer clothing growing up”, with her first pair of Louboutins being a graduation gift from high school. This caused social media users to torch her (with sarcasm) because it was such a “relatable” story and Bella later admitted it was a “bad thing to say.”
Girl. We know.
Janice Dickinson Said What Everyone Was Thinking
Janice Dickinson literally invented the phrase “supermodel,” and now she brings her “no filter” attitude to this interview. Will Gigi and Kendall Jenner ever become “good models” to her? Her response: “No. They do not; they’re the same. They don’t do other moves; they stand there, and they make millions of dollars.” Bella has been included in this statement as well, as they all represent (to Janice) the new generation of Instagram-famous models and are all completely different from the original supermodels.
So, we can safely say Janice isn’t exactly neutral here, but the real reason we think she has a very valid point is that her critiques about the new generation of models are not about whether these girls can actually “model”, they are about how the industry is measuring these girls against past standards.
The Instagram Economy Changed Everything
The fashion industry has changed in a very interesting, yet sad way over time. Fashion is no longer just about how you make your clothes, it’s about how many followers you have on social media, how many people engage with you and whether you are able to sign a contract with an established brand. It should be no surprise that designers are willing to pay Bella Hadid millions of dollars just for the size of her follower base and not due to her ability to walk the runway. Bella has 60 million followers on Instagram. Every designer who shows yearns for Bella to walk their runways, because she is a billboard, with legs reaching all the way to Paris.
What many people find ironic is that the industry’s preferential treatment towards celebrities is actually based on their popularity online. Yet in reality, the internet provides a larger opportunity for those who are less known, yet still have incredible talent to be discovered. Those who are truly talented models are often overlooked by designers simply because they are not fortunate enough to come from a family name.
This is the real problem. Not Bella, but the system that has made her the poster child for a generation of models, who put in the work to showcase their talents for years, but were never recognized.
To Be Fair: She Did Put in Work
To be completely fair, I need to acknowledge that Bella Hadid is not simply a beautiful person who has benefited from nepotism. When Bella was working in the modelling industry, she hit it hard.
It is refreshing to see someone with her level of privilege (which could have been used as an excuse to allow her to simply coast or do less than her best), work hard as opposed to others who are amongst the highest-paid models in the world today (Kendall Jenner has publicly said that she only takes the jobs that she wants).
In addition to having made 35 international covers of Vogue magazines, Bella was also named Model of the Year by the British Fashion Council in 2022. In 2023, she was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. You do not earn those accolades by simply being the daughter of someone famous. You earn those by showing up.
Bella showed up for years while she continued to fight chronic Lyme disease, ADHD and her very public mental illness. That should be commended , sincerely.
The Disappearing Act and the Comeback
Here’s where the Bella Hadid supermodel conversation gets even more complicated. The original supermodels (the only true supermodels) are not known for the years they took off from the industry; they are the backbone of the industry, working season after season, for many years.
By taking considerable time away in 2022 and 2023 to concentrate on her health and sobriety, Bella Hadid made significant strides in turning her career around and returned to the runway in 2025 with a number of very big moments: walking for Saint Laurent fall/winter 2025-26 during Paris Fashion Week, being featured as a cover girl for British Vogue in June 2025, and again during the October 2025 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show revival.
Additionally, she started her own fragrance company, Orebella, and made her acting debut in Ryan Murphy’s The Beauty in 2026. Thus, the transition is real for her. She is transitioning from supermodel to businesswoman to actress to brand and that is a very reasonable thing to do.
The runway portion of Bella Hadid’s career was going to be significantly shorter than that of Naomi Campbell, who continues to walk in shows at the age of 53, and it seems that Bella is aware of this. The question now is whether or not the fashion industry will stop giving Bella the title of ‘supermodel’ and will instead recognize that she is moving on to work that does not meet the criteria of being a supermodel.
What Happens to the Title Next?
In the year 2026, the modelling industry currently finds itself at an authentic crossroad. We have AI-generated models used in campaigns. Micro-influencers receive brand agreements that would have once gone to runway veterans. The elite of 2025 and 2026 are integrating runway excellence and influencer reach, and it has only been granted to very few to successfully become both supermodels and influencers in order to break into the multi-million-dollar category.
The term “supermodel” is becoming more of a title than a definition. It is now a feeling and not a job definition. And at the forefront of this shift of culture is Bella Hadid, who sits firmly in the middle of the two categories of what a supermodel has always been compared to what it is now.
Thus, perhaps this is the only accurate statement to make about Bella Hadid in regards to a supermodel in 2026. Hadid is not a supermodel in the traditional meaning of the term, nor is she a supermodel as the term pertains to 2026. She is a completely different entity than a traditional or modern supermodel; she belongs to some new sub-category or classification that the modelling industry has yet to develop a name for.
So, Is She or Isn’t She?
The real answer to the question “is Bella Hadid a supermodel?” is that the question itself has greater significance than any of its answers. The bigger question is, “who does this industry support?” “Who has access to this type of work?” “What does it take to obtain that title, and is talent even a part of it anymore?” Bella Hadid certainly did not establish the nepotism that has allowed her and many others with connections to have the opportunity to work. However, that does not mean we shouldn’t criticize the “system” that allows a person with a famous last name, like Bella, to walk into a show like Dior while there are many other very talented and qualified models who have not received one call back to do any work due to lack of social media exposure (e.g., number of followers).
