Taylen Biggs has almost 1.5 million followers on TikTok and Instagram, a closet full of designer dresses and 15 fashion weeks behind her – and she’s only ten years old.
Taylen arrived at last week’s Balmain show, one of Paris Fashion Week’s hottest events, wearing a luxe white jacket-and-skirt combo from the French label, black boots and a Karl Lagerfeld bag, and her favorite Vintage Frames glasses.
As always, she was accompanied by her cameraman. Also you "Bodyguard"as she calls him and who also happens to be her father, discreetly held back.
“I love fashion and I love meeting new people and interviewing them to see what they have to say"she told AFP before getting to work with her microphone.
Taylen, who lives in Miami, has already conducted interviews with DJ Khaled, pop star Kali Uchis and American football star Patrick Mahomes, as well as numerous models, designers and other fashionistas.
She’s practically a veteran of red carpets ranging from the MTV Music Awards to the Superbowl, and has been a regular at fashion weeks in New York and Miami, as well as in Milan and Paris over the past two weeks.
“I really miss my family,” she said. “And I miss Miami. But I don’t miss the food in Miami. I’m in love with the food here.”
Influencers are now the fashion industry’s preferred form of media – a direct line to the public and happy to trade goodies for coverage – and age is no barrier.
Taylen’s father, Josh Biggs, says he largely gave up his job as a construction contractor in Miami to work full-time as his daughter’s assistant.
“I travel with her wherever she goes, I am her shadow,” he told AFP.
When asked if his daughter has become a business, he replies: “People see her through the camera lens… but in real life she is first and foremost a child.”
No scruples
Taylen got her first modeling gig when she was 18 months old after her fashion-loving mother, a Colombian who came to the United States when she was 13, posted pictures of her on social media that were discovered by an advertising agency.
Today, she manages her daughter’s social media accounts and oversees homeschooling for Taylen and her two younger brothers.
“We take school very seriously, it is our top priority,” says her father.
They worked over the summer so Taylen could take a long break during Milan and Paris fashion weeks in September.
Taylen’s father – who says he has little interest in fashion – says he doesn’t pressure his daughter to move on when she gets bored.
“If she’s willing to change and pursue a different career, then that’s up to her,” he said. “We will leave the fashion world in a second. There are no scruples.”
But Taylen seems to enjoy her job: “I really get along well with everyone,” she said. “I’m really good with children. I love children! And I love adults – I don’t even get annoyed.”(AFP)
This translated and edited post previously appeared on FashionUnited.uk.