Hailee Steinfeld is one busy 19-year-old. She’s currently on tour with Meghan Trainor, but on Friday morning, she took some time to attend a preview of Swarovski’s new signature Crystaldust collection. The singer-actress came dressed to the theme of the affair, rocking a black sparkly Julien Macdonald jumpsuit, the perfect pairing for the black-and-gray Swarovski Crystaldust bangles she accessorized with. Steinfeld may have been gussied up in designer duds, but much like the rest of us, she also has an obsession with a certain Spanish fast-fashion retailer. “I’m a huge Zara fan. Every stop on the road, I find myself in a Zara, getting something that has me like ‘I can wear this anywhere — possibly onstage as well!’”
But today was all about Swarovski, a company that Steinfeld says she is extremely close to. “I met the Swarovski family when I shot my second film, Romeo and Juliet. They were huge supporters of that film and they helped create the pieces for the film along with the costume designer,” she said. “I met the team, the family, rather, back then, and now I’m back with them here during New York Fashion Week for the launch of the Crystaldust bracelet, which I’m very excited about. ”
These days, it seems like Steinfeld has a lot to be excited about. By the time we chatted, her Fashion Week had already been a memorable experience, thanks to Tom Ford, whose show she attended on Wednesday. Steinfeld got a chance to actually meet the designer backstage after the show, which for her was an “unbelievable” highlight. “I’d just seen the show, so I was high off of the show and the pieces themselves. My level of appreciation for designers and for the amount of work that goes into a show that lasts just minutes is through the roof,” she gushed. “To have met him in general was mind-blowing, and I’m still just getting over it, but directly after the show, he was just so incredible. He was so kind and amazing, and I’m excited to see his film, and I was able to tell him that.” Ford’s fashion show was a celebrity-studded affair indeed, so much so that even a star like Steinfeld couldn’t help but feel a little starstruck at times. “I was at a table with Naomi Campbell, and I was like, ‘This can’t be real!’ She was, like, across from me and I kept making eye contact with her — it was so crazy!”
Ah, the life of a movie/pop star. But besides touring and making movies (Steinfeld’s latest flick, The Edge of Seventeen, is due to hit theaters Nov. 18), Steinfeld is also lending her image and celebrity to brands committed to spreading positive messages, like American Eagle’s #WeAllCan initiative, which strives to encourage young people to, as the kids say, “do you.”
“The thing about this campaign is that it’s amazing to be a part of such a positive message and vibe, and I’m in this with a group of people that I admire and love. Some I’ve known forever, and some I’ve met more recently,” Steinfeld said. “To be a part of this, to spread the message of letting people know that they have the ability to do whatever they want and being able to say that you can do those things, whether it’s singing really loudly in a room full of people or being anyone you want to be, or loving anyone you want to love, those are your decisions to make and your decisions only. So to be a part of that kind of message is amazing and the brand itself is amazing, so I feel very honored.”
Steinfeld is at a great place to help inspire other young kids, now that she’s nearing the end of her teen years. She was thrust into the public’s consciousness as the precocious young lass from the movie True Grit and is thankful that she’s been able to evolve and grow into a young woman without having to deal with the kinds of expectations other young stars do when they start off with a young fan base. “My first movie was by no means a movie that my friends my age then would have seen. So I think in ways I didn’t gain that following of people in my demographic until a little later,” she shared.
“I think that’s nice because it gave me an opportunity to find my ground and get the hang of what this is that I’m getting myself into, before sort of having that — I wouldn’t call it pressure because it’s not. But I’m growing up and I’m having these people look at me, and it’s a weird concept. But in a way, I think I was able to come into my own before that happened. I think now, being onstage and talking about experiences that I’ve gone through that were not perfect, and looking out to a crowd of thousands of people, including kids my age, makes me feel like I’m not the only one that went through a situation like that. I’m growing with them and they’re growing with me, and I’m able to express myself to them and they respond and embrace that. It’s been incredible to have the overwhelmingly positive response I’ve got from them, but we’re growing up together in the same world.”