Model behaviour ... Gigi Hadid, pictured at the 2014 American Music Awards, is a model to watch in 2015. Picture: Getty Images Source: Supplied

Gigi Hadid is part of a new breed of it girls taking fashion back to the heyday of the 90s when supermodels were huge celebrities.

The California native made her VS debut this week modelling for Victoria’s Secret Pink — the younger sister to the lingerie giant’s main line.

And she’s already modelled for Chanel and Tom Ford.

Hadid, 19, and her BFFs (her sister, model Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Lily Aldridge and Candice Swanepoel) are playing out their careers — and their lives — on Instagram.

Social media is almost becoming the new catwalk for models like Hadid who has 1.2 million followers on Instagram.

“(Instagram) has taken models a step further in terms of being social figures and not really being a ‘face’ but being able to have a voice and an opinion,” Hadid told News Corp Australia.

“It’s really important to have kind of marketing skills and to be able to show a brand that you can represent them outside of the magazine or the billboard.

“Every brand that I work with, that any model works with, is looking at our social media following to make sure that we have the right tools to be able to ... represent their brand in the right way.”

Hadid, who was in Australia last month as a guest of Emirates at the Melbourne Cup, is the daughter of Yolanda Foster, who is on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and real estate developer Mohamed Hadid.

In the flesh, she is fresh-faced with her blonde locks tied back in a high ponytail, and wearing barely-there pink lipgloss and a beaming smile.

Hadid grew up in California (the family home is in Malibu) and moved to the epicentre of the modelling world, New York, where she lives in SoHo with her high school best friend.

Hadid is close with Kendall Jenner and was recently seen at Disneyland wearing Minnie Mouse ears with her, Simpson and Cara Delevingne.

“Kendall is a great friend ... we’re the same age and we get to experience everything together, which is really fun,” she said.

“Ireland Baldwin is the coolest chick. And then the Simspons — Ali and Cody are my loves.

“Lily Aldridge is an angel, she’s one of the most genuine, nice people I’ve ever met, let alone in the fashion industry.”

So who does this supermodel-in-the-making look up to? She calls Candace Swanepoel her “favourite”.

“She’s signed to the same agency as me and I get to spend time with her and I think it’s really nice when you get to meet someone who you’ve looked up to for a really long time and they’re everything you hoped they’d be,” Hadid said.
“I still look up to her.”

It couple ... Gigi Hadid with her on-off boyfriend, Aussie Cody Simpson, in West Hollywood. Photo: Todd Green/BuzzFoto/FilmMagic Source: Supplied

Hadid has found her place in fashion though she still has a back-up plan — studying criminal psychology at The New School in New York.

“It’s cool because fashion is really one of the only industries that every other industry comes down to because every musician, actor, whatever you are, you’re always wearing fashion, so you’re always around fashion people,” Hadid said.

“Everyone loves fashion.”

“I love cooking and I’m a big foodie. I’d love to be a judge on like Cupcake Wars. I could have a cooking show and like be happy.”

Spring style ... Gigi at the Melbourne Cup. Picture: Alex Coppel. Source: News Corp Australia

And while Hadid tries to go home as much as possible, she has found a new home in New York.

“I love it because everything is so close.

“I have like 15 restaurants (nearby). I live with my best friend from high school.

“If I want to talk to her about the industry, she has great opinions about what I’m wearing if I’m going out or whatever but she’s also not in the industry — she goes to university.

“It’s nice to be able to go home and have boy talk, gossip about what’s going on in her life and not having to focus on the industry and I kind of get to be a 19-year-old around her.”