Apple Martin, the 21-year-old daughter of actress Gwyneth Paltrow and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, has landed her first major fashion contract as the face of London-based fashion house self-portrait, the brand announced Tuesday.
The collaboration, revealed through a series of self-portraits shot by Apple, will "capture the effortless, confident and self-expressive spirit of a generation of young customers," according to a press release. Self-portrait said the partnership will "evolve and unfold over the coming months through a series of fashion portraits, films and activations."
Founded in 2013 by Malaysian-born designer Han Chong, self-portrait has built a reputation for occasionwear that mixes day and night dressing and has featured a roster of high-profile faces and customers. The label named Emily Ratajkowski, Gigi Hadid, Naomi Campbell, Irina Shayk, Bella Hadid, Kate Moss, Jisoo and Phoebe Dynevor among those who have joined its campaigns, and its clothes have been worn by Beyoncé, Michelle Obama, Olivia Rodrigo, BlackPink and others.
Self-portrait said it is committed to reducing its environmental impact and has introduced responsibly sourced fibers to its collections, including organic cotton and recycled chiffon. The company also established a scholarship program with Central Saint Martins to support postgraduate fashion students, the press materials said.
Apple Martin is currently a junior at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where she is majoring in law, history and society, she told Interview magazine in April. She has also said she might take a theater course before graduating and is involved in a campus theater group. Speaking to W magazine about life in Nashville, she noted the local ‘‘vibes’’ and that it was easier for her to get to class when the weather was nice.
Last week she was photographed near the Vanderbilt campus wearing a self-portrait T-shirt, low-rise blue jeans and black block heels. The images of her on campus, in which she carried a Prada purse and wore dark glasses, were cited in reports about the announcement and closely match the youthful, collegiate aesthetic the label referenced in its statement.
Martin has balanced public milestones and private college life in recent months. She turned 21 in May and marked the occasion with a high-profile coming-of-age event in December in Paris, described by some media outlets as a debutante ball, held at the Shangri-La hotel. That gathering, where she attended with a date identified as Count Leo Henckel von Donnersmarck, drew social media attention and some criticism. Critics on social platforms accused her of elitism, a reaction that friends of Martin said was unfair.
A friend defending Martin told People that she was "genuinely the nicest girl ever" and did not deserve the negative attention. Social media clips shared in response to the backlash showed Martin and friends addressing the criticism with humor and insisting on their charitable and caring intentions.
The self-portrait campaign will mark Martin's first formal role as a brand face. The announcement did not disclose commercial terms or the full creative team behind the forthcoming films and activations. Self-portrait attributed the collaboration to Apple’s self-made imagery and said it reflected the brand’s continuing interest in empowering a global customer base.
Martin is the second-generation member of a well-known entertainment family who has attracted interest for both her private life and public appearances. Her involvement with a fashion house follows a wider trend of young people with high public profiles working with established labels as a way to reach Gen Z and millennial consumers.
Representatives for Apple Martin and self-portrait did not immediately provide additional comment beyond the press release. Vanderbilt University, which was founded in 1873 and named for Cornelius Vanderbilt, did not comment on the collaboration.
The campaign’s rollout over the coming months will include fashion portraits and films; how prominently Martin will appear across self-portrait’s global marketing channels has not yet been specified. The announcement places Martin among a growing list of celebrities and influencers who have become faces of fashion brands while continuing studies or other careers outside the fashion industry.