In 2016, Karlie Kloss began her journey as the ambassador for Carolina Herrera’s Good Girl fragrance. Now, she celebrates a decade with the iconic fragrance, which has since become among the world’s bestselling scents. Here, exclusively for V, Kloss appears in a bodysuit, cape, and hat custom-designed by Carolina Herrera Global Creative Director Wes Gordon, based on a runway look from his Fall 2026 collection. 

The ensemble was also inspired in part by a Robert Mapplethorpe photograph of Carolina Herrera and the designer’s own embodiment of glamour–“those extraordinary volumes, dramatic collars, hats, and the confidence with which she wore them,” Gordon says–and by Kloss herself. “Karlie has this incredible ability to create a fashion image through movement. The cape was designed to be in constant dialogue with her movement. It doesn’t have one fixed silhouette… it changes as she walks, turns, and shifts,” Gordon says. “[Karlie] understands the language of Herrera instinctively, bringing elegance and a modern sense of glamour to everything she does. There’s a confidence and clarity to the way she wears clothes that always feels authentic.”

In addition to her work as the face of Good Girl over the last 10 years, Kloss has continued to carve a path for herself–not just as a model but as a philanthropist, a women’s health advocate, a business owner, and more. In the midst of her own extensive career in fashion, Kloss is excited to be in a moment where she can be fully herself, to embrace the work that moves her and provide a platform for others to do the same. For V, Karlie Kloss chats with Kaia Gerber–the two have known each other since Gerber was a teenager. In that time, they have developed a working relationship as well as a connection as sisters of a chosen family. Here, they talk about Good Girl, modeling, coding, creativity, and the multifaceted nature of being a woman.

KAIA GERBER: You’ve been the face of Good Girl for 10 years. In this industry, it’s no small feat to have a relationship with a brand like that, while continuing to evolve as a person. Your life has changed significantly since you started working with them. How has your relationship to that role changed over the last decade? 

KARLIE KLOSS: It’s been a privilege to be the face of Good Girl for over a decade. I’m so proud of the success of this brand, of this fragrance. To me, it has represented more than selling a product–the message and story behind it has always been so key to it and why it’s successful. It’s personal to me because it embodies the many facets of being a woman, this idea of the Good Girl with so many other dimensions. I am not one job title, don’t size me up or judge me for one thing. There’s so many more parts of who I am, and that’s the case for all of us. Men as well. This has been part of why I have connected to it so deeply. Also the house: my first show I ever opened was for Carolina Herrera. I met her very early in my career, I was barely 15. You first walked Calvin for your first show, right? 

KG: Yeah. 

KK: Okay, same. 

KG: That was your first show too, right?

KK: That was my very first show. The next season, the first show I walked and opened was Carolina Herrera. She was this extraordinarily chic, elegant woman. Female-run houses are rare, strangely, in an industry that predominantly caters to women. I always loved clothes that were made for and by women. What a force she is! So much of what she stands for comes through in her designs and her house. Now, Wes Gordon has taken over the helm and is doing a phenomenal job continuing that legacy. So much of who she is is embodied in this fragrance, and was deeply influential to me. Starting in this industry so young, the people I had the privilege to learn from and grow with, including Carolina, were deeply informative into my own idea of role models, careers I could have, and ways I could move through the world. She was such a trailblazer. When I first got the call about doing this fragrance, it was more than 10 years ago, because of how fragrance works. They had been working on it for seven years before they engaged me. It was an incredible labor of love. You know when you’re a part of a project where you feel it has magic around it. It’s the right timing, the right team, the right intentions, and it takes off in a way you can’t imagine. That’s why I’m so proud that this fragrance has been so successful. It’s fun, like you said, to compound those memories. For 10 years, I’ve been working with this team, and they’ve been very supportive of our work with Kode with Klossy because it ties into women supporting women. It supports this idea that we as women don’t have to be one thing. 

KG: The advice my mom gave me early on was, “date to marry.” When you’re signing these contracts, there can be a pressure to sign everything coming your way. She had these longstanding relationships, and I admired that. You get to be a part of the actual DNA and the messaging. It becomes a give-and-take relationship. As I get older, that’s what I’m looking for.

KK: That’s part of the beauty of collaboration in our creative industry. When we started as young models, there was an element of, people say jump, I’ll say how high. You have to earn your stripes, put in the work, and do everything you can to learn and grow through all the experiences you can get your hands on. What’s been such an honor is to build confidence through these experiences. You have so much you bring to the table. I know, I see all the work you do as a creative and a collaborator, not just a canvas. 

KG: The nice thing about this industry is, when I was 16, I didn’t know what I wanted to say or what I had to say. There was an opportunity for me to build relationships. I was building the platform while I was figuring out what I wanted to use it for, and you did a good job of that. Early on in your career, the work often chooses you. You say yes to everything. At a certain point, if you’re lucky, that shifts, and you begin choosing the work instead. When did you first feel that change happen, and what makes something worth saying yes to at this point in your life? 

KK: It’s funny, it’s hard for me to think exactly when that moment was. When we were on the phone at the beginning of your career, you were in that phase of doing every single show, sleeping probably three hours a night. Because I had been there and saw you going through it, I remember saying to you, enjoy this moment. It will pass, and it will build your character in ways you can’t imagine. Take care of yourself, and enjoy the ride. I always say, pressure is a privilege. What a privilege you and I have had to experience so much, so quickly. For me, a big shift was deciding I wanted to go back to school. I was burnt out from running on fumes for so many years. I was around 20, and I was interested in continuing to grow in different dimensions. I wanted to be stimulated and challenged intellectually. The irony is, I went back to school, learned how to code, went back to NYU, and started challenging my mind in different ways. It only led me back to my career in fashion because it reignited this excitement and admiration for this creative field with extraordinary people. I came back to it with so much more energy, appreciation, and excitement around what I could bring to it with a more entrepreneurial lens, investing in ideas or solving problems at the intersection of creativity and technology. Kode with Klossy was born out of this intersection. All this to say, the turning point for me was, “I don’t have to do this. I am so proud and privileged to be able to do this.”

This cover story appears in the pages of V162: now available for purchase!

Photography Rob Rusling

Fashion Patti Wilson

Interview Kaia Gerbe

Creative Director / Editor-in-Chief Stephen Gan

Artwork Unveil

Makeup Kabuki (Kabuki Magic) using AUGUSTINUS BADER skincare

Hair Akki Shirakawa (Art Partner) using ORIBE

Manicure Jin Soon (Home Agency)

Editor Kev Ponce

Fashion Market Editor Gabby Buchan

Digital Technician Kilkwang Yoshi Park

Tailor Cha Cha Zutic

1st Photo Assistant Daren Thomas

Photo Assistant Harry Kong

Styling Assistants Adrian Reyna & Quinn Herbert

Hair Assistant Christina Rendall

Director of Editorial Film Mynxii White

Special thanks Lucas Arraut & Macarena Cubino

Location Untitled NYC Studios