Heidi Klum’s daughter Leni joined her on the cover of Germany in 2020. Her son Henry Samuel has walked the runway for Lena Erziak. And over the weekend, the supermodel’s youngest child, Lou Sulola Samuel, took her own first steps into the fashion industry with her debut appearance at Paris Fashion Week. The 16-year-old attended the Vivienne Westwood show on Saturday afternoon with her mum, who had popped up on the runway at Ottolinger just days before.
Ahead of the spring/summer 2027 show, Klum told the mother-daughter trip to Paris was a “little early birthday present” for Lou, who will turn 17 on 9 October. “Vivienne Westwood and Andreas [Kronthaler] are very close to my heart,” she added. “I had the chance to walk in his show last year – and I thought it would be the perfect first fashion moment in Paris during Fashion Week for my beautiful Lou.”
Of course, legacy models and nepo babies are part and parcel of every Paris Fashion Week nowadays – the spring/summer 2027 season saw Meryl Streep and John Travolta’s daughters both walking for Miu Miu, while Apple Martin walked at Chloé.
Lou is unfazed by the prospect of joining their ranks: “I feel like I’ve always been in the spotlight in some way – actually, ever since I was born,” she told . “It’s just part of life for me and my siblings. But I feel like now that I’m actually going to a real fashion event and experiencing high fashion firsthand, I can somehow express myself more and officially show who I am, instead of just walking around and being photographed. That really means a lot to me. To be honest, I’m totally nervous because it’s my first time.”
On whether she’s asked her older siblings for any tips on forging a path through fashion, Lou said: “I don’t really get any advice from my siblings, but by watching what they do and seeing that they’re succeeding – and we all grew up the same way – that gives me so much confidence.”