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Bella Hadid Isn’t Coming Back
Her new fragrance line marks a personal transformation as much as it does a career shift.
Palestinian-Dutch supermodel Bella Hadid introduced her new fragrance line Ôrəbella, making a rare appearance on the streets of NYC to celebrate its release. The debut perfume collection, a tribute to Bella’s family name, signals a shift in Hadid’s career as she gracefully exits the fashion industry.
The launch party came just days before the 2024 Met Gala, where Hadid was nowhere to be found, despite dominating the event in years past.
Though official reasons for her absence are undisclosed, Hadid has never not been transparent about her feelings towards the industry as a whole, telling Allure “I realized I was putting so much energy and love and effort into something that, in the long run, wasn’t necessarily giving it back to me.” Fans were still hopeful Hadid might make an exception for the Met, only to be eluded by the outspoken supporter for Palestine once more.
Ôrəbella: Her Own Brand
Bella Hadid carried the torch as fashion’s It Girl long enough to see herself become the face of Charlotte Tilbury, just to be dropped months into the campaign after Hadid spoke out about the October attacks in Gaza. Charlotte Tilbury, a neutrals-forward cosmetics brand whose best-selling product is a lipstick with shade name “pillow talk,” says that their choice has nothing to do with Hadid’s freedom of speech, but rather an issue with a non-compete clause and Hadid’s venture into fragrance. The timing of their departure is something only Charlotte Tilbury, backed by their pro-Israel VC firm Sequoia Capital, can answer for. Undeterred, Hadid chooses to speak up for her ancestral homeland, even after being targeted by Israel’s official social media. “But I’ve also realized that I have done my education enough,” Hadid tells Noor Tagouri during an interview about how public opinion affects the lives of Palestinian people, “I know my family enough, I know my own history enough.”
While Bella Hadid’s retirement as a model is unofficial, her priorities are anything but unwavering: the rollout of her own business venture Ôrəbella is a rollout of her new life outside, literally. An avid equestrian and nature lover, Hadid has traded the streets of NYC for the wide-open plains of Fort Worth, closing the doors to her past as she rides peacefully into the Texan sunset, notes of jasmine, bergamot and cedarwood trailing gently behind her.
Free Palestine.
