Gazing at photos of Salma Hayek and her children, daughter Valentina and step-daughter Mathilde, at Paris Fashion Week, I find myself wondering what it must be like to have young daughters
who can pull off Balenciaga. Of course she's proud. But also, like, is she a little intimidated?
At the highly publicized Balenciaga show, set in an airplane hangar-turned-snow globe, Hayek, 55, wore a simple blue shirt over a black ribbed sweater and skirt. Meanwhile, Valentina, 14, opted for sheer label-emblazoned tights with an LBD-like top and miniskirt, while Mathilde, 21, donned dark denim all the way to the floor. (Perhaps a nod to the ongoing joots trend?) To further assert their dominance, all three clutched glossy black handbags. Although Mathilde towers over Valentina in height, both radiate a confidence that matches their mother's—no matter the decades of experience between them.
This isn't the first time Valentina and Mathilde have stepped out looking as if they'd be just as comfortable on the runway as in the audience. Valentina, in particular, has made appearances beside her mother on the Eternals red carpet and Hollywood Walk of Fame, where she wore her familiar all-black outfit and blessed the camera with soft smiles—the kind that would've looked constipated on a 14-year-old me.
The girls have the benefit of two luxury-inclined parents, given that their father is Hayek's husband, Francois-Henri Pinault, the chairman and CEO of Kering, which owns designer brands including Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent, Gucci, and, of course, Balenciaga. Sadly, my would-be children will not have the benefit of two tastemaker parents, but perhaps they will acquire Valentina and Mathilde's proclivity for power-dressing. If that's the case, I will hide amongst the audience, awed but delighted.