Hailey Baldwin: Good Jeans

“This is the age of the social media model,” declares Hailey Baldwin, snuggled into a chair at the Mercer hotel in New York, sipping chamomile tea with honey. Much like her pal Kendall Jenner, with whom she is regularly seen, the 18-year-old daughter of the actor Stephen Baldwin and his wife, Kennya, is leveraging her more than 1 million Instagram followers, five-foot-nine frame, and full pout into a burgeoning career. There have been editorials for Tatler and Love magazines, and a spring 2015 runway appearance for Sonia Rykiel, plus an upcoming Topshop denim campaign. Of course, there have also been the inevitable rumors (of a romance with Justin Bieber) and snide comments (not worth repeating). “I wasn’t bullied by the mean girls in high school,” says Baldwin, who grew up in suburban Rockland County, New York, and was mostly home-schooled. “I’m just bullied by adults and teenagers all over the world.” Fortunately, Baldwin is accustomed to criticism: Before modeling, she was a devoted ballerina and performed in musical theater. And even though she has traded pointe shoes for stilettos, she hasn’t stopped dreaming of a future on the stage or screen. “Acting is in my family,” she says. “My cousins, my sister, and I always say it’s a legacy that should be kept alive. In the future, it’s something I really want.”

Hair by Thomas Dunkin at Bridge; makeup by Susie Sobol at Julian Watson Agency; fashion assistant: Chrystin Bunion.