FASHION

It Trend, It Girl: Alessandra Balazs

Budding hotel heiress Alessandra Balazs glows in gold.

Dec. 1, 2012

Alessandra Balazs, 23, the daughter of former Ford Models CEO Katie Ford and famed hotelier André Balazs, had a very sophisticated upbringing. Models like Naomi Campbell and Chanel Iman were frequent guests in her family’s Manhattan home. And from an early age she was asking to sit in on her father’s business meetings and to accompany him on property visits. Balazs is now helping him with the Spin LA ping-pong club, which recently opened in the Standard hotel. Her new position has her dividing her time between a SoHo apartment and a place in Beachwood, Los Angeles. But her style varies little from coast to coast: oversize cardigans and girly Joy Cioci frocks for day and glam gowns by Marchesa and Azzedine Alaïa when going out. This elegant burnished-gold Vera Wang evening dress (left) could easily see her through a night at the Chateau Marmont in L.A.—her father’s hotel and, naturally, her favorite spot. But Balazs is the first to admit that she has come a long way from her earlier wardrobe choices. “When I started being able to dress myself, I was inspired by my summers in Saint-Tropez,” she recalls. “I went through a nudist phase where I refused to put any clothing on.”