Why Kendall Jenner’s so cool right now

Meet the kredible face of klan Kardashian, Kim’s little sister and LOVE magazine’s latest kover girl. From teen tantrums to walking for Marc Jacobs, Phoebe Luckhurst keeps up with Special K
'She’s very sweet, very mild-mannered — also super-ambitious and super-professional, of course,' says LOVE editor-in chief Katie Grand (Kendall Jenner by Phil Poynter for LOVE 12 Autumn/Winter )
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Behind every indomitable big sister, there’s a little sibling plotting their rise. Kim’s been the undeniable mega-star for years but all of a sudden a challenger is coming up in the inside lane. Little sister Kendall has seduced fashion’s tastemakers and is ready to claim the celebrity kingdom. Here’s why she deserves the krown.

KATIE’S KENDALL

Kendall’s superlative rise can be attributed to a single fashion luminary: super- stylist, Marc Jacobs confidante and editor-in-chief of LOVE magazine, Katie Grand — who put her on the cover of the mag’s latest issue. Grand first met Kendall when was casting for the AW14 Marc Jacobs show. When she first heard that Kendall was coming in, she was “reluctant” to meet her — convinced it would be a non-starter. “Her agent, Christopher Michael, who I’ve known for years, said just to see her — that she knows it’s not a given, that she wanted to be treated like everyone else,” Grand tells me. “I thought she’d come with this celebrity attitude but she’s totally the opposite — she doesn’t want any special attention, she just really wants it.”

The appearance sent the fashion press into a frothy, chiffon tailspin, but only retrospectively. For Kendall is “savvy” when it comes to the media torrent that pursues her family. “When the Marc show came up, Kim asked Kendall if she should come and watch, but Kendall knew that this would turn the appearance into something else — so she advised that Kim didn’t come on this occasion. She consciously avoided creating a media circus.” Kendall was flatly unstarry — “she didn’t turn up with an assistant, and her agent was backstage with all the other agents although not to look after her. Actually, she was laughing with me backstage because some of the other girls were going around saying, ‘Apparently there’s a Kardashian in the show?’ She thought it was the funniest thing.”

Kendall Jenner by David Sims for LOVE 12 Autumn/Winter

Grand says Kendall is determined to be seen as just another model. “She just turns up in skinny jeans and Balenciaga boots like all the other girls. She’s very sweet, very mild-mannered — of course, she’s also super-ambitious and super-professional. When we did French Vogue together it was a 7am call time and she was there before anyone else — including me, and I’m pretty punctual.”

Grand’s favourite shoot from the LOVE Magazine editorial was the cover: Kendall created the hero shot. “We’d been trying out all of these looks and then she was just messing about and put the Fendi hat on and was taking selfies. And David Sims [the photographer] spotted her and said, ‘That’s how I want it — how she sees herself’.”

THE KLAN

Soberingly, Kendall was born in 1995, making her 18. But don’t forget: she’s just your regular 18-year-old with a net worth of roughly $2 million.

She’s the younger half-sister of one of the world’s most incredible (in its most literal sense of “impossible to believe”) individuals, Kim Kardashian — and thus now also the sister-in-law of Kanye “Megalomaniac” West and auntie to North “Nori” West. Kendall’s mum is momager Kris Jenner and her father is former US Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner. Then there’s sister Kylie and half-siblings Kim, Kourtney, Khloe and Rob; on her father’s side there are half-brothers Burt, Brandon, Brody and a half-sister, Casey. Kendall has appeared in Keeping Up With the Kardashians (KUWTK to the fans) since it started in 2007. There have been persistent rumours she will leave to bolster her modelling career — she’s said nothing.

LOVE 12 Autumn/Winter goes on newsstands today, cover shot by David Sims and styled by Katie Grand, lovemagazine.co.uk

THE KOUTURE

Kendall made her catwalk debut walking for Marc Jacobs last season: the all-American girl was virtually unrecognisable with bleached eyebrows, and a sharp, cropped bob. Grand typically curates the most talked-about fashion week line-ups: the previous season featured Cara Delevingne, Georgia May Jagger and Sky Ferreira. She followed this by walking for Giles - also styled by Grand -alongside Cara and Jourdan in a warehouse in Shoreditch and then walked for Givenchy and Chanel in Paris. She scored her first Vogue cover for Miss Vogue Australia aged 17 and has since covered French Vogue in a shoot styled by Grand and shot by the esteemed Patrick Demarchelier. This season it’s the LOVE cover and a Givenchy campaign alongside Mariacarla Boscono and Julia Nobis, shot by fashion stars Mert and Marcus. Kendall walked in the Chanel haute-couture show in Paris this month: surely a portent of stellar things to come.

THE KONNECTIONS

Kendall has 11.5 million Instagram followers and 8.4 million on Twitter. Earlier this year she was spotted with 1D lothario Harry Styles, though as a couple Hendall hasn’t been seen in months: Styles reportedly ended their relationship, leaving Kendall heart-broken. According to her Twitter bio, she’s based “wherever the wind takes me”: when the elements allow, she hangs with close mate Hailey Baldwin, model daughter of lesser Baldwin brother Stephen. Scandalously, she was recently spotted with sister Kim’s arch-nemesis Paris Hilton at a Chris Brown-sponsored charity event. Paris Hilton is not the only thing wrong with that sentence.

THE KAREER

Kendall has “written” a YA fantasy book with sister Kylie. Rebels: City of Indra is a dystopian fantasy novel that mom Kris thinks could be the next tween franchise. Kendall and Kylie (K squared? K2?) also have a clothing brand for US brand PacSun — Kendall told Teen Vogue she was thrilled with its success. “Seeing the clothes on people. Like people are actually buying them and wearing them. That’s cool.” The pair hosted the MuchMusic awards in June, and Kendall introduced Aussie band 5 Seconds of Summer at the Billboard Music Awards in May, though she fluffed the lines, apologising with the totes adorbs disclaimer: “Guys, I’m the worst reader!”

But by all accounts it’s modelling that really captivates her. Has she got longevity? “She had an amazing catwalk season,” Grand comments, “and obviously she’s just done Chanel couture. She’s got the proportions — the height and the long limbs — and I’m sure she’ll get some amazing offers. She did four shows last season and I’m sure she’ll do more this time, unless someone slaps an exclusive on her. I’d love to see her on the front of US Vogue — that’s her dream. She’s got an exciting future — it’s why I worked with her.”

LOVE 12 Autumn/Winter goes on newsstands today, cover shot by David Sims and styled by Katie Grand, thelovemagazine.co.uk

The rise of Kendall Jenner- in pictures

1/16

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in