Natalia Bryant Makes Her Runway Debut in Milan Fashion Week’s Versace Show

If you’re looking for the world’s fashion elite—as well as a laundry list of many of the most famous faces across the globe—fix your gaze on Milan, where Milan Fashion Week is in full swing. The Versace show has proven to be a highlight of the week—which kicked off last Tuesday and ends on Monday—and on the runway were familiar faces of both past and present (Claudia Schiffer, Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid) and some new faces, as well, like Natalia Bryant, the eldest daughter of Kobe and Vanessa, who made her runway debut at the Versace show yesterday.

Bryant, a student at the University of Southern California, wore a “little black dress with structured shoulders, nipped-in waist, and V neckline,” for her catwalk debut, Page Six reports. Bryant “looked cool, calm, and collected as she swept across the checkered runway in metallic silver sandals,” the outlet writes.

When asked about her runway debut, Bryant told Vogue she was “beyond excited” to take her career in modeling to the next level: “It’s such an incredible opportunity and I’m so grateful to Donatella [Versace] and am honored that she has invited me to be a part of something so special,” she said. 

Bryant met the iconic designer the day before Friday’s show, and of the experience, Bryant said that Versace “was just so welcoming and sweet and made me feel so comfortable, especially with it being my first runway. Meeting her definitely helped settle my nerves.”

Bryant signed with IMG Models in February 2021 and said she has “only had positive experiences” since beginning her modeling career. She said she often turns to her mother, Vanessa, for advice, and that her mom encourages her to “have my own walk and establish my own way of doing things,” Bryant said. “I’ve always loved watching videos of Naomi [Campbell] walking down the runway, along with videos of other iconic supermodels I look up to. My mom says, ‘Walk like Naomi but remember to be yourself, put your own style to your walk, and always with your head held high.’”

Proud mom Vanessa took to Instagram Friday to congratulate her oldest on this accomplishment: “Natalia, I’m so proud of you! You did it mama!!!!” Vanessa wrote. “I love you so much and I’m so happy for you @nataliabryant! Bellísima! Versace!” 

Though this may have been the first runway for Bryant, she has already taken part in campaigns for Ugg, Ivy Park, and Bulgari, the latter of which she undertook with her mom. Bryant—who attended her first Met Gala at just 18—made her magazine cover debut last year, appearing on the cover of Teen Vogue.