Leni Klum: This was your first year in public

Leni Klum (17) dared the long-awaited leap into public a year ago. The daughter of model, presenter and TV juror Heidi Klum (48) presented herself for the January issue at the end of December 2020. “It was only a matter of time before I would try it myself as a model,” Leni revealed in the accompanying interview.

She received her first offer when she was just twelve or thirteen years old. At the time, she begged her mother to be allowed to do the job, “but no chance”. Now she wants to take off, but at the same time emphasized: “I want to do my own thing, we are so different anyway that there is no other way.” And so the 17-year-old has made her own steps on the way to becoming a successful model in the past few months.

Catwalk debut in Berlin

On January 18, Leni made her catwalk debut when she opened the Berlin Fashion Week. Her famous mother proudly wrote in an Instagram story: “Guess who will ring in Berlin Fashion Week …” and presented a picture of her daughter. The then 16-year-old also shared photos on Instagram. The Berliner Salon, a popular series of exhibitions at Fashion Week, was presented digitally. A film was made to match this, in which some looks from the participating labels were staged.

Special magazine cover

In April Leni graced the cover of the “Glamor” anniversary issue. The occasion was the magazine’s 20th anniversary. “It’s an amazing honor for me to be able to celebrate my birthday with you,” Leni said in an interview with the magazine. Also almost exactly 20 years ago, Leni’s mother was featured on the cover. “During the shoot, I thought the whole time about how crazy and surreal it is, that I am actually exactly where it was 20 years ago,” Leni continued.

On the Dolce & Gabbana catwalk

At the end of August Leni Klum walked across the market square in Venice with a crown decorated with Swarovski stones for the Alta Moda show by Dolce & Gabbana. It was on the catwalk, but the young model wasn’t nervous, as “Elle” revealed in December: “To be honest, I wasn’t that excited. I just improvised,” she said on the record.

Own collection

In the fall, the young talent started in collaboration with About You. “I don’t want my clothes to be intended only for a certain type of girl,” Leni explained in the “Gala” interview. “I want everyone to be able to wear my things – no matter how big or small, what size or gender you are.” The 17-year-old then presented the result at the Berlin Fashion Week – together with friends she walked the catwalk in the casual outfits.

Red carpet with adoptive father Seal

Leni Klum comes from her mother’s relationship with the former Formula 1 manager Flavio Briatore (71), with whom Heidi Klum was in a relationship for around a year. Her future husband, singer Seal (58), adopted Leni. With him, Klum, who has been married to Tokio Hotel guitarist Tom Kaulitz (32) since 2019, had three more children. At the premiere of the new Netflix flick “The Harder They Fall”, Leni Klum surprised everyone on the red carpet in mid-October not only with boyfriend Aris, but also with her adoptive father by her side. For the red carpet appearance, she threw herself into a figure-hugging, black mini dress with a fringed hem. Leni had already shone on the red carpet at the beginning of August: she and her mother attended a gala in Capri, Italy, in a gold sequin dress by Versace.

On the “Harper’s Bazaar” cover

At the end of November, the young model posted a photo of herself with a surprising look: mahogany-colored hair with black tips, short, fringed bangs and a few punk strands on the top of the head; plus XXL eyeliner. Leni’s comment back then: “Miau”. It later became clear what the blonde was being transformed for. It adorns the “Harper’s Bazaar” cover Kazakhstan, as can be seen.

Other cover shoots that Leni did in her early career include “Hunger Magazine” with photos by photographer Rankin (55) or the Russian “Elle” including photos they shared with her mother. , which was created for the cultural magazine “Rollacoaster Magazine”, Leni received a lot of attention: In the picture she is wearing a black blazer by the sea, she let the piece of clothing slide down over her shoulder on one side, the exposed chest covers them with your hand.

“GNTM” in your hand soon?

In addition to the model successes, is the big TV coup waiting for Leni? Mother Heidi could definitely imagine her daughter as her successor in “Germany’s next top model”. “She is there from the second, she has been part of the excitement every year and loves the show as much as I do,” said the 48-year-old in February of the “gala”. “In the 16 years she has taken part in so many crazy shootings that my girls have done, she has always seen everything behind the scenes – that’s why I can imagine that I will hand over the scepter to her at some point.”