Kaia Gerber Talks Acting, Scent And Beauty Trends: ‘I’ve Gotten Very Into Nineties Blowouts Recently’

When Kaia Gerber sits down to speak to me on Zoom she's as fresh-faced and smiling as she always manages to appear on camera, whether in a perfume campaign or a Malibu pap shot. Her hair is straight and bobbed, her make-up minimal - she's wearing a soft nude blush shade on her lips - and her nails are, for a change, long and glossed, but that's because she's recently finished filming Mrs. American Pie, a forthcoming Apple TV + series set in the seventies in which she's set to star alongside Hollywood heavyweights Laura Dern and Kristen Wiig as manicurist Mitzi. Kaia is also will also appear in high school comedy Bottoms, a film that follows two queer teens and their ambitions to start a fight club - there's no denying her acting schedule has stepped up a gear since American Horror Story.

That said, the model isn't letting go of her roots just yet. Her latest campaign for fragrance icon Marc Jacobs Daisy has just hit TV screens to launch the brand's newest iteration, Marc Jacobs Daisy Ever So Fresh. Kaia first signed with the brand when she was just 14, and has duly danced in meadows, worn pretty white dresses and made daisy chains in each new campaign since. There's no denying the enduring quality of the Marc Jacobs Daisy aesthetic, and it's one that Kaia clearly still feels drawn to.

On Being The Face Of Marc Jacobs Daisy

'Those first campaigns feel like so long ago, I was 14 when I first started working with them and now I'm about to turn 21, I've had a relationship with this brand for the longest time. It has an aesthetic all of its own, young, fresh. I always get to shoot in these beautiful fields, or on a beach in the sun, and in California too, which is where I'm from. It was all of this that drew me to Marc Jacobs Daisy in the first place. I grew up wearing Daisy too, and I couldn't believe that they wanted to work with me. I've had such a lovely time working with them and growing with them. It's also meant that I've ended up with a sort of history of my time with Marc Jacobs Daisy in images, and very natural, beautiful images, something that I don't always get to do, so I feel very lucky in that respect.'

'I love the new scent, Marc Jacobs Daisy Ever So Fresh, they've really switched up the bottle, it's so beautiful. The scent is very fruity too, without straying too far from the original Daisy notes that everyone loves. There's a little mango in there, notes like that.'

On Her Ride Or Die Beauty Heroes

'I love Allies of Skin, a friend recommended the brand to me and now I'm hooked. I use pretty much every product in the range. In terms of make-up, I keep things super light, especially in the summer. There's Touche Eclat from YSL Beauty that's a must for me when I'm travelling or quite tired, it really perks up my skin without making it look like I'm wearing make-up. And then of course there's Marc Jacobs Daisy, I have every single one of the perfumes, and a shelf full of all the bottles, which 14-year-old me would have totally freaked out about.' I mention that Kaia's lipstick looks great, it's a soft matte nude with a hint of rose, 'Thank you, it's YSL. It makes me look somewhat presentable on a morning Zoom, even though I'm wearing sweatpants!'

On Her Cannes Experience And That Celine Dress

'I had never worn red before, really. Originally we were going to go with the same dress, but in silver, but I felt like I'd worn silver pretty recently at the Met Gala this year, and that I was seeing so much silver, so we decided last minute to go for a beautiful red silk. Celine are so lovely to work with and I think when the quality is so good, you can afford to go really simple on the silhouette.'

On Digging Into Nineties Fashion And Beauty Trends

'I've always been into that very minimalist side to nineties fashion and beauties trend, the Kate Moss style - when clothes fit really well but you don't need to be wearing a lot of them. I've also been very into nineties lip liner, and I've gotten very into a nineties blowout recently. I used to avid them because I felt they made me look too much like my mom, but now I'm really leaning into it. The older I get, the more appreciative I am of anytime I can look like her.'

On Her Acting Career

'I was very young when I first realised I wanted to pursue acting. I was always in school plays and musicals. My first play was The Wizard Of Oz, I was ten and I played a tree. It ran for two weeks and my parents came to see almost every show, bless their hearts. I'm very grateful that now I can give them some more entertaining content to watch! Something a little more up their alley.'

'It's always been something that made me happy. I wasn't a sports kid at all, I was all about theatre and singing and acting. Recently, right before the pandemic, I realised that I'd been working so hard on my modelling that I hadn't been acting as much as I would have liked to. Then the pandemic happened, and I suddenly had two years to study and really get back into it.'

Her biggest cheerleader? 'My brother probably. I remember him sending me a video of him freaking out about my role in American Horror Story, which was really sweet. It's funny, I get the most nervous about my family watching my shows, for sure. I really want them to like it.'

On Starring In Mrs. American Pie

'I play Mitzi, who's a manicurist, that's why I have these nails right now,' Kaia usually takes a minimalist approach to manicures, keeping her nails on the shorter side, but when she flashes me her current set on Zoom they're long, with almond shaped tips. 'I think you can expect a lot of fun from the series, a lot of bright colours. I mean the cast is just incredible, every time I look at the call sheet I'm like, "Is my name really supposed to be on there?". It's a total pinch me moment. I couldn't learn from better people, they've been heroes to me for so long. I'm watching everything they do all the time and learning so much from being able to work with them.'

'The series is set in the seventies, and the styling, hair and make-up looks are so much fun. There was so much effort that went into style, hair and beauty during that time. I'm someone who doesn't do their hair, I'm in sweatpants most of the time, so I loved the transformative side of this role. The more my character doesn't look like me or doesn't remind me of myself in any way, the easier it is for me to transform into that person. Everyone looks so amazing.

On Starring In High School Comedy Bottoms

'When I read the script, the first thing I thought was that I really wish that a movie like this had been around to watch when I was in high school. Nothing like it existed when I was younger, that was the first thing that drew me to the project. I wish I could go back to that time and watch a movie like this. It's so valuable really, not just for those in high school, but for their parents and family members. It's a comedy so everyone will enjoy it, but there's also a really important sense of self-awareness about it. I would have every member of my family and extended family watch it.'

'The movie has a real understanding of queerness and queerness in high school and the stereotypes that people are faced with, and there's some comic relief too. Some parts are sad, too, there's a real beauty to the movie as a whole - that it invites anyone and everyone into this experience.'

On Factoring In Down Time

'It's been so busy this year but hopefully in August I'll have some time to see my family. We have a house in Canada on a lake, which I haven't been able to visit in the last two years because of the pandemic, so I can't wait to get out there and relax.'

Shop: The New Marc Jacobs Daisy Ever So Fresh