Willow Smith talks about the power of representation at the PFW Chanel show
Ava Wright
Updated on March 09, 2026
Paris Fashion Week is in full swing, only the celebrity sightings have been few and far between. You know it’s bad when I’m considering devoting a post to Olivia Palermo! Thankfully, the Chanel show was Tuesday and the current Chanel brand ambassador came out to support the line. 15-year-old Willow Smith came to Paris with her dad, Will Smith, and Willow only looked bored and embarrassed by her dad a few times. Which we should consider a success! I also really like Willow’s whole look here, from her Chanel ensemble to her blue eye makeup to her killer dreadlocks.
As I’ve said before, I’m actually okay with Willow being a brand ambassador for Chanel. Of course she’s too young for the role, but out of all the potential second-generation nepotism-hires, I think Willow is an interesting choice. Willow understands her role too, and she thinks it’s cool that Karl Lagerfeld hired a young African-American girl to be an ambassador. Willow chatted with The Telegraph after the Chanel show, and here are some assorted quotes:
Her work with Chanel: “It’s not every day that a 15 year-old black girl with dreads gets elected to be the Chanel ambassador… I know a lot of girls that look like me feel that they’re not beautiful and feel like they don’t have a place in the media or a place in the world. I want them to know that’s not true, and if you’re confident and you love yourself then everything you see, your perception, will start to change and you’ll see things differently. I want to show those girls that might not think they’re beautiful but they are.”
She believes in the power of Coco Chanel: “I feel like from all the stories that I’ve heard about her- and obviously no one in this day and age really knew her so we don’t really know how she felt in life- but I think she was a very tortured soul. And the only way she could relieve the pain was through fashion and creation. That pain is the best way to plant a seed. A lot of people don’t understand that you have to experience pain to create greatness within yourself and in the world.”
Her message to girls: “It’s not what anyone else thinks about you, it’s what you think about yourself.”
I think she comes across well here. Which goes to another point I’ve made before: she’s still growing, learning and figuring things out. I feel sorry for her to a certain extent because she’s sitting down for these interviews with major outlets and trying to do her best, but she’s only 15, people. And the parents never prioritized education for Willow or Jaden, so this is all they know. Thank God no one was quoting me when I was 15.
Photos courtesy of Getty, Pacific Coast News.
