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Does a better compliment exist than “You look like Jane Birkin?” Equally flattering: “You’re a dead-ringer for Kate Moss!” Neither of those ladies have an Instagram account, but their doppelgängers do. Emily Labowe, a 25-year-old model and underwear designer based in Los Angeles, says her uncanny resemblance to ’70s-era Birkin has actually helped her build her career (not to mention an Instagram following of nearly 80,000 people). “More often than not, Jane is on the mood board and is the inspiration for many [of the] shoots I do,” she tells Vogue. “I work with a lot of French or French-inspired brands, most likely because of my fringe and [my resemblance] to Jane—Rouje, Sezane, Barry, The Kooples, Etam, and magazines like Jalouse and Lui.”
With the same blunt bangs, high cheekbones, and full lips you see in vintage photos of Birkin tagged with #mondaymuse or #inspo, it’s easy to confuse Labowe for the “original” and vise versa. But here’s our burning question: Does it ever get old feeling a little, well, type-cast as Birkin’s lookalike? “It’s such a great compliment—I would never tire of hearing it!” Labowe insists. “I love her so much as a style and creative icon. I need to learn French to more accurately fit the model!” An added bonus (particularly at early-morning shoots) is that Birkin has always been a low-key beauty: “She has such a natural, effortless look beauty-wise, so hair and makeup tends to be simple and easy.”
Aside from her bangs, Labowe’s style and beauty choices are refreshingly un-Birkin-y. She’s not posting selfies in bell-bottoms or carrying basket bags; instead, her look is a bit more tomboyish and ’90s-inflected, consisting of graphic tees, vintage jeans, and slouchy tailoring. “I appreciate well-made basics, like from the Japanese brand, Blue Blue,” she adds. “In the cold weather, my daily uniform has been a pair of jeans or canvas sailor pants, a cozy fitted sweatshirt, and my oversized plaid coat. Oh, and some really cozy socks, preferably in mustard.”
Labowe isn’t the only girl whose Instagram posts get confused with vintage shots. Paris-based model and musician Jade Rabarivelo is routinely told (IRL and in comments) that she looks like Kate Moss did as a teenager; her low-fi Instagrams enhance the effect, too. But she actually has something of a dual-doppelgänger thing going on: “I also remind people of Devon Aoki—that’s why my nickname is Suki,” she says. “For years, everybody has been telling me, ‘Oh my God, you look like Suki from The Fast and the Furious!’ Which is kind of funny, because I love cars.” Maybe it’s a coincidence that Rabarivelo mentioned the ’90s and early ’00s as her style inspiration, the era when Moss and Aoki started working in the industry. (Even curiouser: Fashion legend has it that Moss actually discovered Aoki when she spotted a photo of her in Interview magazine; others say Aoki’s godmother introduced her to Moss. Either way, they’ve long been real-life friends.)
When it comes to new, circa-2019 style icons, few women feel as instantly iconic as Birkin or Moss. But then there’s Rihanna. She’s inspiring an entire generation with her music, style, and outspokenness—and New York artist Brielle Jenkins looks so much like Rih, her Instagram makes you do a double-take. “When people compare me to Rihanna, I melt a little bit inside,” she says. A few of her friends even call her Bad Gal Bri Bri—though she insists she idolizes Rih for more than her otherworldly features. “It might sound kind of silly, but Rihanna really helped me see the beauty in myself,” Jenkins says. “I grew up in a town in Florida [where] my family was one of the only black families living there. I really didn’t have a lot of exposure to diversity and culture, and I had a lot of trouble accepting my blackness. My family is also from Barbados, and because of Rihanna, I began to feel proud of my Caribbean heritage. I remember thinking, ‘If everyone thinks Rihanna is sexy and beautiful, maybe that means I’m sexy and beautiful, too.’ She’s more than an icon to me—she helped me grow into the confident black woman I am today.” We can’t all look like Rihanna, but we can certainly feel inspired by her—and the way she’s impacting the lives of young women like Jenkins everywhere.
