True, there’s still a Hadid face staring back at us from seemingly every magazine page we turn, but the fashion world isn’t as insular as it once was. Each year, we’re greeted by an explosion of new — or at least relatively new — faces on runways, billboards and magazine covers. Some of them, per tradition, are the sons and daughters of pop culture icons and industry folk. Others, like Yasmin Geurts and Leyna Bloom, grew up far outside the fashion capitals and made it their business to get discovered.
Here, we’ve gathered together 13 fashion and social media pros who are on the road — career, following and style-wise — to having the best year of their lives. Some have been slowly working their way up the ladder for years, others just broke out on the scene. Whether they’re vets or neophytes, whether their entry into fashion’s communal consciousness feels fated (because genetics) or it’s their unique style and Instagram skills that got them here, these are the top fashion influencers for 2018. Know them, follow them, draw #OOTD inspo from them.
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Fashion Influencers to Watch in 2018
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Molly Blutstein
If Molly Blutstein looks familiar, it’s because she’s the twin sister of Atlanta-based blogger Reese, aka @double3xposure. Over the past year, Reese catapulted to Insta-fame, producing non-annoying #sponcon for brands like Gucci, Paco Rabanne, Paul Smith and Need Supply. It’s clear she’s showing Molly the ropes — the latter has begun posting more fashion shots and establishing her own signature style/aesthetic. Can you say Olsen twins 2.0?
Image: @mollyblutstein
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Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert
Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert is by no means new to the scene. She’s the contributing fashion editor of W and senior fashion editor of Vogue Japan and just released her own book, Gio_Graphy: Fun in the Wild World of Fashion. Still, 2017 was truly her year, at least as far as street style is concerned. With her metallic pleated Gucci skirts, Takesh Eyewear sunnies and feathery Prada heels, she was hands-down the best dressed showgoer of the Spring 2018 season, meaning you definitely want to be among the first to see her Fall 2018 lewks.
Image: @bat_gio
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Ava Nirui
A little over a year ago, designer, artist and writer Ava Nirui — then a contributor at Dazed, now the digital editor at Helmut Lang — had a measly 82,300 Instagram followers “liking” her tongue-in-cheek reinterpretations of classic designer logos. (Think heathered Fila tees altered to read “Fendi,” inhalers decorated with Dior costume jewelry, etc.) These days, her following is over 198,000 strong, thanks in no small part to her recent Marc Jacobs collab. This past November, Nirui and the iconic New York designer released a limited-edition, enzyme washed (yum) cotton hoodie embroidered with the words “Mark Jacobes est. 1985” in what could’ve been a 5-year-old’s handwriting. No doubt 2018 will see the birth of more must-have Nirui “originals.”
Image: @avanope
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Sabina Socol
The former L'Officiel social media editor recently struck out on her own to #influence full-time. So far, it’s going pretty well: the Brigitte Bardot lookalike is currently splashed all over Free People’s front page. When she’s not sharing her beauty secrets with Into the Gloss or her fashion dos with Who What Wear, she’s taking very “Parisian chic” street style snaps all over Paris. No doubt more brands will capitalize on her super-cool Jane Birkin style in 2018.
Image: @sabinasocol
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Gray Sorrenti
Celebrity offspring alert: Mario Sorrenti’s 17-year-old daughter Gray is gorgeous and, much like her father, very at home behind the camera. In the summer of 2016, the IMG-signee’s dad shot her for the cover of Vogue Italia. That fall, she posed in print-only title Moodboard (her magazine editorial debut). Still, it’s the Italian beauty’s own eye that fascinates us most. She shoots mainly in film and loves black-and-white. Her models are her gaggle of cool, downtown New York friends (among them Manon Macasaet, who appeared in our 2017 fashion Who’s Who). Her inspirations? Everyone from Mary Ellen Mark to Larry Clark. Take a look at the world through her lens.
Image: @graysorrenti
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Leyna Bloom
In 2017, Leyna Bloom burst on to the (mainstream) modeling scene thanks to a few major castings. This past New York Fashion Week, the part-black, part-Filipino model walked at LaQuan Smith, the Blonds and Chromat, all big-ticket names. (Bloom opened the latter's Spring 2018 show after having closed its Fall 2017 runway — designer Becca McCharen-Tran has long been wise to her talents.) Next came a feature in Vogue India, making Bloom the second out transgender model of color ever to appear in an international Vogue (the first being Tracey “Africa” Norman, who posed for Vogue Italia in the 1970s and again this past October). Given the way the tides are turning, we expect to see a lot more of her in the year ahead.
Image: @leynabloom
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Madeline Poole
The downtown New York-based Poole has a pitch-perfect eye — that’s what landed her the role of global color ambassador for Sally Hansen and helped her quickly graduate from backstage nail artist (at Phillip Lim, DKNY and Stella McCartney) to front row fixture (at buzzy labels like Helmut Lang, Adam Selman and Area NYC). In a world where professional influencers always seem to be wearing some variation on the same outfit, Poole never fails to dazzle us with her electric, eclectic picks — and dye jobs. Most recently, Poole and her "clementine-neon-pastel-peach" hair starred in Sandy Liang’s Resort 2018 lookbook. What color/campaign will she appear in next? (Stay tuned.)
Image: @realmp
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Theresa Hayes
Coming off a two-season exclusive with Louis Vuitton, Brooklyn native Theresa Hayes popped up on a ton of Spring 2018 runways, including — but not limited to — the aforementioned Paris Fashion Week closer, Giambattista Valli, Miu Miu, Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, Off-White and Fenty x Puma. Given her breakout runway success, we’ve no doubt her campaign castings will multiply in the coming year. Meanwhile, her social media presence is a present — feline-faced, socially conscious and effortlessly cool, Hayes fills her ‘gram with #BTS photos of her goofing off on set, awareness-raising messages and hilariously captioned selfies.
Image: @theresahayesofficial
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Rachael Wang
From fashion market director at Nylon to fashion market director at Style.com to fashion director at Allure to full-time stylist, street style fixture Rachael Wang has long been one to watch. When she’s not taking breathtaking travel photos or campaigning for social causes — she was among those camped out at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation last December — she’s slaying editorials for Wonderland, Numéro Tokyo and Vogue China. Follow her for a constant stream of expertly-devised outfit inspo.
Image: @rachael.wang
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Carlotta Kohl
Not only is German-born, Paris-raised, New York-based Carlotta Kohl enviably pretty — she’s got arresting icy blond hair and impossibly dewy skin, which she attributes to working out, drinking water and (mostly) avoiding snack food — she also has an impeccable eye and out-there sense of humor that always shines in her captions. The Elite-signed model is the star of Juicy Couture’s Fall 2017 campaign, but her true passion lies in photography, painting and sculpting. (She's shot for Vogue, The Cut, Jalouse and L'Officiel, among others, and if you're living in New York, do yourself a favor and check out one of her art shows.) Oh, and she’s got awesome style.
Image: @carlottiica
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Diana Veras
After first appearing in ads for American Apparel, Chloë Sevigny’s Opening Ceremony runway show and a Petra Collins-lensed Rookie editorial many moons ago, 21-year-old Washington Heights native Diana Veras is finally beginning to get her full due. Since signing with Jag Models a year and a half ago, the Afro-Latina beauty has landed campaigns for Aerie, M.A.C Cosmetics and more. With her free-flowing curls, commanding beauty and palpable confidence, Veras is set to become one of the year’s most in-demand curve models. Unsurprisingly, she often uses her powerful social media presence (276,000 followers and counting) to speak out against sizeism.
Image: @mynamesdiana
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Yasmin Geurts
Minneapolis-born Yasmin Geurts is another model whose career is bound to pick up speed now that inclusivity is no longer just a want, but a demand. The gap-toothed, strong-browed Muse signee had quite the 2017, appearing in shoots for Jalouse and Dazed and modeling for household names like Diane Von Furstenberg and Forever 21. When she's not landing coveted gigs, she's hanging out with other curve models on-the-rise (Barbie Ferreira, Paloma Elsesser, etc.) and posting the evidence on Instagram, because 2018.
Image: @yasminmoonmoon
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Cordell Broadus
Less than a week into 2018, 20-year-old Cordell Broadus — former UCLA football player and son of Snoop Dogg — landed his first-ever modeling campaign with luxury goods company MCM. (Jasmine Sanders will co-star.) Not that he’s a fashion outsider. Last season, Broadus walked for Dolce & Gabbana in Milan and Philipp Plein in New York. He’s also the creative director of L.A.-based streetwear brand Joyrich and spends his free time making (fashion) films. Word has it he’s also set to pose for Kenneth Cole and write and direct a short film for Kangol. In other words, 2018 is already his year.
Image: @cbroadus
