When Natalia Bryant was a little girl, she wanted to be a fashion designer. Her notebook was home to her blueprints, her mother (Vanessa Bryant) was her stylist, and she used the basketball games where her father (Kobe Bryant) played as her runway. But while the NBA enthralled millions of sports fans, for a growing Natalia, the sport just stopped short of swallowing her whole. In a world of Lakers and layups, where, exactly, did luxury and Louis Vuitton fit in? Kismet is as clear an answer as we’ll get. 

When Natalia first saw a supermodel, the sight left an indelible mark. “Whether they were in magazines or on TV,” she recalls, “they exuded such elegance and confidence, yet each represented it in a way that was unique to themselves.” From that day forward, the 22-year-old talent knew she wanted to explore modeling, and curiosity mixed with awe proved to be a powerful concoction. 

A decade later, Natalia no longer sits courtside on the tarmac of haute couture. By 2023, the budding model already had several cover shoots and a lead in Victoria’s Secret Pink’s 2024 spring campaign under her belt. For Versace’s Spring-Summer 2024 show in Milan, she donned a polished little black dress, walking her first catwalk since signing with IMG models in 2021. The soon-to-be University of Southern California graduate is set to be the face of the David Yurman Collegiate Campaign, slated to launch this spring. Yet, despite her growing pedigree in the industry, Natalia credits her penchant for fashion to her mother. “Growing up, my style inspiration was my mom because she has such a natural ability to put together outfits and really has an eye for fashion,” she says. “Watching her get ready for events or even day-to-day life, she showed me how much individuality and confidence goes into one’s personal style.” 

Although eager to see where the big, wide world of modeling will take her, Natalia refuses to be pigeonholed into one industry. This May, she will be graduating from USC’s film school, where she’s studying to be a filmmaker and director. Her drive to craft stories centered around modern girlhood, specifically the ruthless transitions underlying that dreaded period dubbed one’s ‘coming-of-age’, is reflected in her junior year thesis film — a five-and-a-half-minute narrative on two sisters maneuvering a school graduation in the face of absentee parents. “I’ve loved entertainment since I was a kid,” Natalia recalls. “I have so many great memories of going to movie theaters with my family. I love the idea that people can come together to watch a movie…the film can cause audiences to experience a wide range of emotions while still feeling a shared sense of togetherness in the cinema.” 

Natalia emphasizes her love and appreciation for each art form and how she’d eventually like to facilitate similar career paths for others. “A dream of mine that will never go away is to inspire others and especially be a role model to younger girls,” she declares. And, with confidence, V can say she’s well on her way. 

This story appears in the pages of V154: now available for purchase!

Photography Olivia Malone

Fashion Karolyn Pho

Creative Director / Editor-in-Chief Stephen Gan

Editor Kevin Ponce

Hair Lauren Palmer Smith (Forward Artists) using Bumble & Bumble

Makeup Zaheer Sukhnandan using MAC Cosmetics

Producer Suze Lee

Location The Revery LA

1st Photo Assistant Patrick Molina

2nd Photo Assistant Camille Rice

Digital Technician Dustin Edwards

Stylist Assistants Sydney Englehart, Kyle Lynch

Hair Assistant Drew Martin

Production Assistant Andrew Amann