Gigi Hadid Will Always Value Virgil Abloh’s Support of Her Design Dreams

Gigi Hadid is many things: a young mother, a creative, and a celebrated model chief among them. As of September 7th, she is also the founder and creative director of Guest in Residence, a classic yet colorful luxury cashmere brand that’s challenging what it means to be a genderless label in fashion today.

“In designing this collection, it was never about one person or one kind of person,” she told W via a voice memo sent from the brand’s launch dinner at Le Chalet in New York City on September 6. “I tried to keep in my mind that I [would want to] buy something and gift it to my friend or my mom or my daughter or my grandparent.”

Much like art, Hadid sees cashmere as an investment to be purchased thoughtfully and passed down through loved ones. From the looks of her friends and family who came to toast her last night—Mohamed Hadid, comfortable in a heather gray button down and pumpkin colored socks; Bella Hadid adding her own personal style to a cropped cardigan; and Tan France in a matching polo-and-short set—the model’s mission to create a multigenerational collection could be considered accomplished. “It was important that these pieces have a classic quality to them, but also a timelessness, and a factor of youth and funk,” she added.

Although Hadid was surrounded by friends including Emily Ratajkowski and Antoni Porowski dressed in her designs for a night of drinks, dancing, and decadent French cuisine, there was one person whose absence was deeply felt: Virgil Abloh. Hadid remembers the late designer and long-time friend as a supporter of her cashmere line in its early days—and his voice is one that the model still thinks of every time she designs. “If I had to choose one person to dress in Guest in Residence, it would be my amazing friend, Virgil, who has inspired me so much in my life,” she said. “I really hoped he would be here to see the day of Guest in Residence. I would love to see him in it. I think about him in it all the time.”

The core collection of Guest in Residence is now available to shop here.