As kids, we’re always taught to dream big, encouraged to stretch our imagination and to envision ourselves as the person we want to become. For Kai Schreiber, her dream became a reality when she made her runway debut on the Valentino catwalk for the house’s Fall 2025 show.

Whether on the streets of Paris or New York in platform heels and mini dresses, or lip-syncing to the latest trending audio clips with her friends on TikTok (where she has nearly 100K followers), at the sweet age of just sixteen, the daughter of acting icons Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber has managed to establish herself as the one to watch this season. Below, V get to know the girl balancing high school and haute couture.

V MAGAZINE: Let’s start with where your love for fashion began. Can you pinpoint what your earliest memory of fashion is?

KAI SCHREIBER: I’ve always loved all things glamorous. Whether it was makeup or clothes, I’ve always been obsessed. I used to go to the garment district and buy a bunch of fabrics and sew them together, but I was never too serious about design—it was just a hobby of mine. My favorite designer of all time is Alexander McQueen, and my favorite show is Fall/Winter 2006.

V: Who were some supermodels that you admired growing up? What did you find most fascinating about the modeling world?

KS: I’ve always been obsessed with the OG girls—people like Shalom Harlow, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, the icons. I love the modeling world because I think it is such an important thing to bring life to the art of the clothes that are being worn. That’s a model’s job.

V: You’ve been quite open about your transition. Have you been seeing a lot of support for your first few modeling gigs from the doll community and the modeling community as a whole?

KS: I have been receiving a lot of support from the doll community, and I think that’s something that’s so important about us. We’re always gonna have our sisters’ backs. There are many trans icons in this community. People like Colin Jones, Dalton Dubois, Teddy Quinlivan, Connie Fleming, and so many more have paved the way for younger girls like me.

V: Aside from your catwalk debut at Valentino during Milan Fashion Week earlier this year, you’ve also recently made your Haute Couture week debut in Paris. What are some of the biggest differences that you have noticed about the two fashion weeks?

KS: Ready-to-wear week was more stressful than Couture week. It was my very first show, and it was such an honor to walk for Valentino, so I was definitely nervous. I’m a perfectionist at heart, so I really wanted to make sure I smashed it. Girls have to go from one show to another so quickly for ready-to-wear. This year, I was exclusive to Valentino, so I didn’t have to worry about that, but I’m both excited and nervous for that in the future.

V: What do you do when preparing to walk on a runway? Have you started a routine to help you lock in and prepare?

KS: I used to be a dancer, so I’m used to performance jitters. Backstage is always the scariest part, but once you’re on the runway or stage, you kind of blackout and don’t remember even being on stage when you get off.

V: From New York to Paris to London, we’ve been keeping up with your every jetsetter move now that you’ve done two shoots for us! Do you feel like you were born to do this?

KS: I definitely feel like this is what I was meant to do. I love doing these shoots, and it feels very natural to me.

V: When you first came to the V offices to meet us, you mentioned your love of dance. What speaks to you most about dancing? Have you been able to apply it to your modeling work?

KS: My dance background has definitely helped me in this new industry. The goal is to make everything look natural, so when there’s good music on, the posing comes easily to me and looks good.

V: If you had unrestricted access to any fashion brand’s archive, whose archive would you raid and what item would you take home with you?

KS: I would definitely raid the Dior archive. I need one of the “J’adore Dior” tank tops.

V: If you could go shopping with one fashion icon (dead or alive), who would you go with?

KS: I would go shopping with Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen, for sure.

This story appears in the pages of V156: now available for purchase!

Model Kai Schreiber (IMG Models)

Photography Sebastian Mader

Fashion Jeanie Annan-Lewin

Interview Kev Ponce

Hair Akihisa Yamaguchi (Forward Artists) using Oribe

Makeup Aaron de Mey (Art + Commerce)

Manicure Leanne Woodley (See Management) using From the Nails USA,
She Nails It Hydration, and Aprés Nail

Digital Technician Berk Dogan

Location untitled NYC

Photo Assistants Isaac Schell, Chase Elliott, Michael Vick

Fashion Assistant Alexandria Smith

Makeup Assistant Aya Iwakami

Production Assistant Alana Powell