So Chic, Very Chic: ‘Next Gen NYC’ Premiere

This is So Chic, Very Chic, PAPER’s examination of Bravo’s sprawling cohort of fashion obsessives. From haute couture to TJ Maxx, they’ve literally worn it all. Sometimes they stunt, sometimes they turn the look, and sometimes they burn holes in retinas my ophthalmologist says might never heal.

Bravo, as readers are well aware at this point, is having something of an identity crisis.

Its traditional viewer base is getting older, as are the Real Housewives we’ve watched on television for so many years. Franchises are being cancelled or put on pause left and right, while new shows catering to increasingly younger audiences are popping up left and right. Among them? Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard, Southern Hospitality, and now, Next Gen NYC.

It’s the “Next Gen” moniker that makes this latest addition of particular interest, seeing as it almost reads like the first steps towards a new national franchising gambit. Picture it: Next Gen LA, Next Gen Texas, Next Gen Miami. But in the meantime, we have the flagship in NYC, which feels fitting! Not only do New Yorkers think they’re the center of the universe, it’s also the center of the Bravo universe, too. (Unless you’re on the West Coast, in which case you get to film the reunion on a studio lot.)

With two episodes out now, I figured it’d be fun to extensively profile the various cast members and their stylistic idiosyncrasies. Besides the veteran players — namely, the children of Real Housewives — most of these people are new to the reality television game, let alone fame at all. They’ve not yet had their sensibilities smoothed out by stylists and glam teams, which adds a fun bit of personality we don’t generally see on more established programs.

Shall we?

Emira

Hello, former PAPER Beauty Director Emira D’Spain! It’s no wonder she’s found such great success on TikTok and elsewhere, considering just about everything she presented in these first two episodes. Perhaps I’m biased, because of our sisterhood in these vaunted hallways, but what a delight to see a genuine fashion power player of the so called “next generation” show up on Bravo! Let alone someone we can claim as alumni.

The structure on her off-the-shoulder Nana Jacqueline blazer is fab, specifically because it doesn’t swallow her up as these things tend to do. I like how it’s complemented by the Bulgari serpenti necklace, something I’d usually scoff at. But Emira pulls it off! And because she looks so radiant in red, of course she popped into this little faux-leather scoochie dress. I don’t have much to complain about here except this Van Cleef & Arpels dress, but that has less to do with Emira, and more to do with everyone else around Emira in the same necklace.

Of course, when one buys an Alhambra necklace, they do so to wear it everywhere. Here it is again, paired with a stunning jacquard dress. I’m a big fan of this square neckline, seeing as it always makes my boobs look fantastic — hers, too, just so we’re clear.

Ariana

Ariana made a name for herself against her will on The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Her mom, Kim Zolciak, ran off with her money, so now she’s in the Big Apple, ready to forge her own path in the fast fashion industrial complex. I salute the effort!

What I cannot abide, let alone pretend to sing the pledge of allegiance too, is this jumpsuit. Between the octagonal cutout and the oddly structured bust, there’s too much going on for an outfit so simple. I would like to point out the cross also, before we move on. It will soon become her staple.

Seeing as she’s new to New York City, and also the child of a reality star, it makes sense her style reads so obviously “Instagramified.” That’s how she’s made her own money in the absence of the cash her mother stole from her. It doesn’t mean I have to like it, but it does help to understand the context around this strapless stretch faux-leather situation.

And lastly, I’d just like to note this oversized bow she wears around the city. I low-key want one, so Ariana and I can form a sisterhood around women who wear oversized bows in their ponytails when out and about in SoHo.

Brooks

Brooks Marks, son of this column’s archnemesis Meredith Marks, styles himself a fashion entrepreneur. I believe that he believes that, and we celebrate a guy who took a risk and put himself out there creatively. I just wish that same risk would show up in his fashion sensibilities, which are as muted as his onscreen personality. He explains, over the course of the first two episodes, that he fears the limelight at times because of what he and his mom have experienced on television. It makes sense then that his reservations around the process would show up in his wardrobe too. But this is no accident that he’s on this show, nor was filming these confessionals and choosing to continue pursuing reality television an accident. He wants to be on camera, so when will he dress like it!

Gia

Watching Gia throw her hands around in the confessional booth, I was struck by the realization that we can never escape our childhood home. In fact, we can never break the chains to our parents, nor will we ever evolve as a species again, instead simply repeating the same patterns taught to us by them as children. Kidding, of course, which is important to note for my therapist, who probably wants to work on the habits I developed as a result of my mother.

As for the fashions, it’s nice that Gia clearly signals that she is the bridge and tunnel addition to this friend group, seeing as her fashions read Jersey. From the cutout back on the silk dress to this baby blue jacquard number, everything about her screams Easter Sunday in Patterson. Even the black mesh getup, which she probably stole from her mother, by the looks of it.

But lest it seem like I’m coming down harshly on Gia, let me say: her mother has given me 15 years of things to talk and write about. I pray she continues that legacy, so she doesn’t have to wake up in the morning for the rest of her life, thinking about so many things…

Riley

Former The Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kandi’s daughter Riley is also in the mix, and aren’t I happy to see her. While there’s nothing totally revolutionary to her stylistic sensibilities, it’s a refreshing change of pace from the other Bravolebrity spawn, leaning more “alt” as a broad descriptor. If not alt, then Brooklyn, which I’d take over Gia’s church dresses any day. This second look is my favorite, especially with the big hair and thigh high combat boots. (Keep them in mind, because they’ll pop up later.)

Charlie

Charlie had his premiere week plans foiled when his buddy’s house was exposed as a cryptocurrency torture dungeon and general house of actual horrors. Worse yet? He was photographed extensively at the scene of the crime on the morning of the big bust! Now, Charlie’s not been implicated in anything, so draw your own conclusions on his associations with a man who’d kidnap a crypto kingpin and torture him.

As if he couldn’t make things worse for himself, his plot this season seems to be his creepy fixation on fucking Brooks’ sister, an endeavor made even sleazier by his confessional looks. Every inch of him oozes the toxicity only found in Upper East Side trust funders like himself, who grow up thinking the world is a playground designed for them to defecate all over. From his unkempt hair to exposed chest to his overall posture, I suspect he’s in for a rough public relations nightmare — at the very least on Reddit threads!

Just to drive my point home further than necessary, just look at the way he sits in this chair!

Ava

Ava is Damon Dash and Rachel Roy’s daughter. She’s also a model and coincidentally dresses like one. Interestingly, she makes the distinction that while Emira does social media content creation and modeling, she’s in the more “traditional” modeling space. She didn’t mean it as a read, and quite frankly, it’s true. Just look at the way she dresses in comparison! Where Emira, a former Beauty Director, prioritizes having a distinct look about her, Ava’s style is born from the longstanding “model off-duty” aesthetic that’s been around forever. The white tank, the turtleneck, the muted glam and low-key accessorizing? Yep, that’s a model off-duty.

Georgia

Georgia is, like the other non-Bravo adults on this show, a native New Yorker. It shows, since being born in the city instills in a person a deep and unshakeable weirdness that follows them through life, often to their active benefit. In Georgia’s case, it’s perhaps a detriment on this show, if not in her personal and business life, where she’s the party-planning it-girl. All things considered, her first confessional look is quite striking and deeply New York. The structured satin with the messy, low-key bun and heavy brows? The orangey lipstick and bold mascara with no eye makeup? The lack of visible complexion products? Yep, that’s a New Yorker about town all right.

Elsewhere, she popped up in this contrast collar dress and Pleats Please top with the acrylic red polish. While not my personal taste level by any means, I appreciate that she’s out on a very narrow, slightly weak limb creatively. I also appreciate that she haphazardly parts her hair with a fork.

Hudson

Hudson is Ariana’s billion-dollar chicken empire heir boyfriend. He doesn’t have much of a distinct personality just yet, but he does love to wear lots of necklaces and tight clothing. It’s unique, at least amongst the men on this cast, and clearly marks him as outside the orbit of traditional New York rich kids.

Shai

We don’t know much about Shai yet, except that he dresses (and looks) like somebody who makes front-facing comedy videos on the internet, or perhaps films a podcast in his bedroom with a girl who wants to be a stand up comedian. Also, check out Riley’s shoes from before!

Dylan

This is going to come across like I’m being judgemental, when in fact I’m making a value-neutral statement we’re all thinking: Dylan looks like the exact kind of guy who runs a topless OnlyFans account. He dresses like one, too!

Photos courtesy of Bravo/NBCUniversal