This story originally appeared in i-D’s ‘Rihannazine‘ Special Edition, no. 01, 2020. Order your copy here. For this one-off project, Rihanna put a series of questions to the women shaping culture today, and invited them to share their visions for 2020.
Can you introduce yourself?
I’m Gigi Hadid and I’m a model.
What do you think your biggest personal or professional success has been so far?
I would say that it’s finding myself creatively. Not only in fashion, but in realising that I needed to take time for myself to do random little creative things that are about my own self-fulfilment.
Do you think failure is intrinsic to success?
In every failure there’s a success, and vice versa. I think that life is a pattern of failures and successes, and it’s about how you move through those things. I think my biggest failures in my life and my career have been when I haven’t had – or I wasn’t old enough to have – the confidence to stand up for myself when I knew what was happening on set wasn’t right. I didn’t believe I had the voice to speak out. I guess through those disappointments in myself, or through disappointing others with my actions, I’ve really been able to learn. I try and grow from everything.
What’s the best way to move past something that you consider to be a failure?
Having a really honest conversation with yourself. An inner dialogue that forces you to look at it from every perspective, and forces you to be in other people’s shoes. You have to connect with your morals, with how you want to live your life, find your place. I learned that the hard way!
As we’re heading into 2020, what are you taking with you into this year, and what are you leaving behind in 2019?
I’m taking a fuller version of myself. I think that in the last year, I tried to wake up every day and think about the small things that brought me joy, and really tried to bring those things into my life. What I’m gonna leave behind is negativity. I know that’s broad, but it can be so many little things – whether it’s listening to other people’s opinions about what fulfils you rather than your own, or the way you express yourself, or what makes you different from other people.
So If you could ask Rihanna one question, what would it be?
Okay Ri. My question is: if we’re gonna do a weekend Airbnb, and I said, “Pick five things that you need to have in the refrigerator when we get there,” what would they be?
What do you want from Rihanna in 2020?
Ri, I just want you to continue to express yourself in the way you always have. She’s someone who is fully herself, and fully expresses herself the way she wants to. I think I want Rihanna to give whatever she wants to give in 2020, because it’s always good. Wait, I’m getting emotional! Why am I getting emotional?
Credits
Photography Mario Sorrenti
Styling Alastair McKimm
Hair Duffy at Streeters.
Make-up Kanako Takase at Streeters.
Nail technician Honey at Exposure NY using Tom Ford Beauty.
Set design Jack Flanagan at The Wall Group.
Colourist Lena Ott for Suite Caroline.
Lighting technician Lars Beaulieu.
Photography assistance Kotaro Kawashima, Javier Villegas and Jared Zagha.
Digital technician Johnny Vicari.
Styling assistance Madison Matusich and Milton Dixon.
Hair assistance Lukas Tralmer, Dale Delaporte and Allie J.
Make-up assistance Kuma, Tomoyo Shionome and Megumi Onishi.
Nail assistance Tera Darden.
Set design assistance Mike Williams, Akaylah Reed and Amy Sabel.
Production Katie Fash.
Production coordinator Layla Némejanski.
Production assistance Fujio Emura.
Casting director Samuel Ellis Scheinman for DMCASTING.
Casting assistance Cicek Brown for DMCASTING.