Like father, like daughter: Nepotism is alive and well in the fashion industry.
The daughter of French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, is a creative director who launched her career with an internship with Fabien Baron, the former creative director of the magazine. Stateside, Anna Wintour’s daughter, Bee Shaffer, has been a contributing editor at Teen Vogue for years.
On the designer side of things, we caught up with Chloe Breitman, 15, the daughter of J. Mendel creative director Gilles Mendel, and a sophomore at the Rudolf Steiner School. She’s been interning in her dad’s design office for months – and it’s not all bonbons and roses, even though she’s the boss’ daughter.
“I’ve made patterns, organized, critiqued, sewed, cut and researched,” Breitman says. “Truthfully, I had no clue what I’d be doing in the office beforehand because there are always so many things going on at once. When I worked in the design department over the summer, I was surprised at how fast things needed to be done and the precision required in everyone’s jobs. If there was a fitting going on and pants were needed to go along with a jacket, the pants would be created within a few hours.”
As for following in her father’s footsteps, Breitman is unsure.
“My father supports whatever I choose for my career in the future,” she says. “Though I do consider being a designer, I really don’t know what I want to do yet. All I know is that I want to be an artist. Whether my art can be interpreted into fashion, I don’t know yet, but it’s possible.”
Click here for more behind-the-scenes interviews and some snappy snaps from the front row at the Rodarte show – my hands-down favorite so far this season. Rodarte will save us all – with its leather bondage leg wear, that is.