Jessica Stam’s Marc Jacobs bag has been doing the rounds on resale sites recently, as Noughties style hawks snap up relics of the Y2K era. Now, the It-girl herself is back on the scene. Stam made her catwalk comeback for Max Mara at Milan Fashion Week after a runway hiatus of four years. Spoiler: she looked as fresh-faced as ever.
The ’00s super, who climbed up the ranks alongside Coco Rocha and Agyness Deyn, was declared one of the world’s next top models by Vogue in 2007. But like Aggy, she has saved her show moments for her friends, preferring magazine editorials and brand campaigns over the fashion week circus. At 35, the Canadian, with her almost Icelandic beauty, has never been short of work, while her personal style – a New York version of the vintage bohemia we love to see on the likes of Kate Moss – means she’s still very much a muse to designers.
Max Mara’s Ian Griffiths called in Stam, alongside the Hadid sisters, Jill Kortleve and Adut Akech, to “reflect Max Mara’s reality” on the runway. “With Max Mara’s shows, I want to hold up a mirror: this is who you could be,” he told Vogue’s Anders Christian Madsen of the casting. “It’s aspirational, but it’s also achievable.” Stam, in her snug teddy bomber and utility skirt, indeed looked like a polished version of the Manhattanites she hangs out with at home.
Her Stam tote – with its squishy quilted leather and kiss lock closure – might be making a fleeting comeback on the arms of indie sleaze enthusiasts, but Jessica is a fashion girl through and through who will always stand the test of time.
