Odds are, you'll be seeing a lot more of Chelsea Tyler: She's already an accomplished musician and model, and the extremely chill offspring of Aerosmith's frontman, Steven Tyler, just starred in Gap's comeback campaign and walked in that Philipp Plein show everyone's been talking about. Tyler has a long career ahead of her, but that doesn't mean she's abandoning her roots.
Growing up with a famous father (and last name) made Tyler wise beyond her years, and part of what keeps her so grounded is her ability to tune out the noise. Her trick to doing so? Remembering something that her rockstar dad told her when she was a teen. We recently spoke with Tyler about what it was like to walk in her first fashion show (in Milan, no less), her amazing vintage T-shirt collection, and what she's learned from her dad that she'll hold onto forever.
"I used to go to Fashion Week alone a lot. And it wasn't for any particular reason, or that I couldn't get someone to go with. It was just that when I first started modelling, I was living in New York by myself, and there were so many shows and presentations during Fashion Week where people are standing [versus seated shows]. And I had the most wonderful experience, because I could just blend in a little bit and watch how the whole thing go down.
"It's really fascinating, the way [fashion shows] work: it always seems like it's not gonna come together, and then it does, perfectly, for a tiny, little moment. A fashion show or presentation is just a few minutes, really, and then the whole thing is over. And it's months and months of work and build-up, and people lose their heads trying to pull it all together.
"But one awesome experience that really opened my eyes was when I walked in Tod's fashion show last year in Milan. It was my first runway experience, and seeing the backstage of a runway show like that was just incredible. There were so many people doing so many things, all at the same time. It was so frantic, and the energy level is so high...I'm always so impressed by the poised, calm, and almost stoic confidence that these girls exude as they come out of that manic environment. It was really cool to see the behind-the-scenes of all of that.
"You almost have to go inside and find peace within yourself amidst the chaos. I guess that's how most art is, but it's always so crazy to me how these things come together at the last-minute and you don't know how it happened. My dad has always been so supportive, and he always pulled me into whatever he was doing when I was little. I'm so grateful for that. If I was at a photoshoot with my mom or something, and I was standing on the side, he'd always pull me in. And I think being exposed to being in front of the camera, and being included in that environment from such a young age, was so helpful.
"One of the best things that he ever told me when I was a teenager — I went through a couple of crazy phases, like a moment of being a goth and, then, a prep — was that it really doesn't matter what you wear, so long as you wear it with confidence. And that really struck me. I was so unsure of what I was doing physically with myself that I was wearing a million different things, trying to be something that I wasn't, and it ended up making me less confident.
"And that's where I find the beauty in classic T-shirts and jeans, because it allows you to focus on what's most important: your own happiness, and your own comfort. And that's what's sexy."
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