Laura Dern's 16-Year-Old Son Was Asked to Model for Calvin Klein, and You'll See Why
Ellery Harper wasn't on the runway at NYFW — but he certainly could have been.
It's no wonder that celebrity offspring are shoo-ins for the runway. When you have a superstar's genes, you're bound to shine! But, at least one kid-of-a-movie-star is going to have to wait to make his runway debut, and that's Laura Dern's 16-year-old son Ellery Harper.
The teenager already has a keen appreciation for fashion, and a close relationship with Calvin Klein's chief creative officer Raf Simons. So, Harper made the perfect plus-one for his famous mother as she attended the label's Fall/Winter 2018 show at New York Fashion Week — though Dern told WWD that she was actually her son's date. "Really I’m attending with Ellery who has a great love of Raf and is an invited guest of Raf — they have a beautiful connection,” the actress said.
The connection is so deep — and, um, Harper's cheekbones are so high — that the designer had actually hoped to have the teenager model in the show. "[Simons] originally asked me to walk,” Harper told reporters. “But my dad had different opinions.” Dern confirmed that Harper's father, her ex-husband Ben Harper, wants his son to wait just a bit longer before he starts modeling. (Smart man! Yolanda Hadid had daughters Gigi and Bella wait till they were 18 before they began working.)
Still, the teenager made a splash as he took in the popcorn-flecked show from the front row. Check out how handsome he looked in head-to-toe plaid, and get a load of mom's bold-red style statement.
The mother-son duo seemed thoroughly impressed by the show. “As someone who loves urban wear and streetwear, [Simons] is [Harper's] favorite artist,” Dern said. “So watching the two worlds come together through [Simons'] work at Calvin is incredible.”
The proud mom noted that her son is even more interested in design than in modeling — so you never know! Perhaps Harper's first summer internship will be in the cutting room at Calvin Klein HQ.
