Article by Liana Sierra
CREDIT: Women's Wear Daily
According to supermodel Gigi Hadid, our bodies are not necessarily our own. We are mere visitors within them. We are ever-changing beings. Yet, the one thing that will never change is our need for durable, eco-friendly luxury cashmere.
Well, she doesn’t exactly phrase it like that, but you get the idea. Hadid is another model aging out of the industry, walking down her last runways, trying to out-strut the sad reality that her profession is a temporary one. Now, like those before her, she has created a brand that will hopefully ensure her relevance in future decades. The question is, is it any good?
Guest In Residence launched on September 7, 2022. The brand is 100% cashmere knitwear inspired by Hadid’s initial move to New York City as a young model. Each parent gave her a single sweater–versatile and timeless pieces that remain in her closet years later. Hadid wants her brand to be a space where people can make similar memories with an article of clothing intended to last a lifetime. She also claims it’s a more sustainable way of doing fashion.
All her clothes are sourced from inner Mongolia and manufactured in China. The website does not give much more information than that, and neither has Hadid.
Perhaps we can discover further details about Guest In Residence by taking a deeper look at another brand: Public Habit. On April 19, 2021, Emily Chan wrote an online article for VOGUE, urging us to “get to know” the brand donned by Hailey Bieber, Miranda Ker, and Gigi Hadid. Hadid was seen wearing it while taking her infant daughter, Khai, for a walk around the Concrete Jungle (or should I just say Manhattan?).
Public Habit is obsessed with sustainable production. They call their approach the “flip and skip.” Essentially, they’ve shortened their supply chain process to generate less overall waste, while still delivering the client with something they love and can treasure forever. Their garments are made from 100% silk, Tencel modal, organic cotton, 100% merino wool – and OF COURSE, 100% cashmere.
According to Sophia Li, the brand’s sustainability advocate, all products are made in a factory in Ningbo, China that is known to be eco-friendly and ethical. The Public Habit set Hadid wore on her walk about a year ago is 100% cashmere. Sourced in Mongolia. Sound familiar?
Both Guest In Residence and Public Habit are incredibly similar in their message, values, and actual product. It is also a known fact that Public Habit was established in 2003, and Guest In Residence followed suit 19 years later. Although there had been over a decade between the launch of the two companies, Hadid was seen in that outfit about a year before announcing the birth of her brand. It could just be a coincidence. But, where do we draw the line between inspiration and imitation?
Love,
Lili