Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by The Business of Fashion, an editorial partner of CNN Style.
(CNN) — Modern “it girls” are not just born, they are also made.
The elusive term that describes a girl or woman with a certain something has been part of the cultural vernacular for nearly 100 years and was popularized by the 1927 film “It,” starring silent film actress Clara Bow – often referred to as “It.” famously the first “It Girl”. Since then, it has been used to describe a range of women, from Andy Warhol muse Edie Sedgwick to Bianca Jagger and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy to Alexa Chung.
But today’s It girls didn’t earn the title by accident. Whether by necessity or desire, they are powered by a well-oiled machine behind the scenes. Being an It Girl is no longer just a side effect of being a paparazzi magnet (Bessette-Kennedy), attending the right parties (Jagger), having influential connections (Sedgwick), or simply having great style ( Chung). Nowadays it’s a job in itself – and to be successful you need a team behind you.
At the same time, this “it factor” is becoming increasingly necessary to make it in the fashion world, especially as a model or influencer.
“It used to be that you could find a great-looking person somewhere, give them the right haircut, dress them right, send them out and it worked,” said Jeni Rose, senior vice president and co-head of fashion representation at WME Fashion. “It does not work anymore.”
Take Sofia Richie Grainge, undoubtedly this summer’s It girl. Her April 2023 wedding in the south of France sparked a firestorm of interest, with TikTok users dubbing her the face of “Old Money” style. Google searches for her name multiplied by 100 in the days before and after the event.
Since then, she’s done collaborations with brands like Jo Malone and Maybelline, built a TikTok following of over 3 million, sat front row at Chanel’s cruise show in Los Angeles – the luxury house had designed three custom looks for her wedding – and landed on the Cover of Town & Country.
There was no guarantee that Richie Grainge’s wedding would go as viral as it did, or that it would have such a long afterlife online. But that doesn’t mean it happened by chance either.
“Everything in life, when it lands, it lands,” said Liat Baruch, Richie Grainge’s stylist. “But it’s something that has built up. We’ve been working together for a while. We know what silhouettes work, what fabrics work.”
For those already in the public eye, it’s often a well-coordinated and well-publicized style change that triggers “it” status.
Anne Hathaway, a Hollywood mainstay for over two decades, has crept into It Girl territory in recent years since her collaboration with stylist Erin Walsh, resulting in headline-grabbing outfits like a white Armani Privé column dress at the Cannes Film Festival last year or a striking purple Valentino mini dress (with matching tights and chunky platform sole) worn to a Bulgari event in May. Richie Grainge worked as a model for years and was also known as the little sister of 2000s It girl Nicole Richie. However, it wasn’t until her wedding, where she adopted a “quiet luxury” look, that she cemented her Gen-Z style icon status.
“Vogue’s wedding coverage has become a go-to destination for It girls in particular because their photo-intensive stories give people a way to get a comprehensive look at a bride’s style and taste,” said Robyn DelMonte, a publicist who works for She became a TikTok creator and comments on pop culture on her account GirlBossTown.
Ivy Getty, the great-granddaughter of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, exploded online in November 2021 when Vogue covered her wedding in San Francisco. Since then, she has also appeared on the cover of Town & Country and has become a fixture on the fashion scene, attending events like the Met Gala and Cannes.
Getty has everything that makes a classic It girl: famous family, beautiful looks, a strong sense of style. But in today’s ecosystem, it needed that extra push to gain a foothold in the cultural consciousness. Coverage of their wedding was arranged by Savannah Engel, founder of the PR firm Savi. Since then, the two have continued to work together to capitalize on the interest—and newfound opportunities—that presented itself to Getty.
They “got to work immediately,” Getty said: She met with Engel and communications strategist Federica Parruccini to lay out her immediate and long-term goals and received media training to better handle the flood of attention.
“I wanted to learn how to brand myself better, but also not feel like I was ‘branding’ myself,” she said. “I just wanted to feel like I was putting someone out there who was authentic to who I really am.”
Parruccini said Getty is about assessing whether something feels real to her, her life and her interests. For example, if she’s attending a fashion show, they want it to be a show for a brand she already likes and is interested in.
“Our goal is not at all to make her famous,” said Engel. “Our goal is to create their brand. It’s not about the next two years, but the next 10 to 15 years.”
With social media, today’s It girls can harness the power of public interest and turn it into a lasting career. Someone like Hailey Bieber started out as a model and social media star, then got a boost from her famous relationship (and, again, a Vogue-covered wedding) before launching her skincare brand Rhode, which sells the “glazed donut.” Beauty look that she made famous on her Instagram.
“Going out for five minutes, especially in fashion, is not hard because people are always looking for the next thing,” Rose said. “But to become a big deal and stay a big deal for years to come is a testament to the level of talent you’re dealing with and also the level of management.”
There are greater opportunities, but there is also more at stake. These days, It girls face more scrutiny, especially if they choose a more public career.
“You can’t be in this public eye without having protectors or brand builders, and that’s us,” Engel said. “We grow their community and build their brand, but we protect them. Without this unity around you, it would be impossible to develop smoothly as an It girl.”
Plus, there’s more competition for “it” status than ever before. It’s not just celebrities, heiresses or Hollywood neighbors, but also influencers who can – and do – earn the title.
Still, there’s something about the connection to wealth or fame that people can’t resist; This is, after all, the year people became captivated by quiet luxury. “It takes a different kind of confidence to be a little quieter and still be noticed,” Baruch said.
And that confidence or charisma — that certain something that’s been an It-girl must-have for over a century — is still the fundamental part of the equation, no matter the size of the team behind you.
“Even if you have the tools and do all the calculations it takes to be an It girl, it still might not work out,” Delmonte said. “You have to have that ‘it factor’ to make it work.”
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by The Business of Fashion, an editorial partner of CNN Style.