![Vanessa Bryant and Natalia Bryant](https://www.usmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Vanessa-Bryant-Gushes-Over-Natalia-Bryants-Runway-Debut-in-Milan.jpg?w=700&quality=86&strip=all)
Vanessa Bryant (left), Natalia Bryant.
Daniele Venturelli/WireImage (2)Vanessa Bryant couldn’t help but rave about daughter Natalia Bryant‘s debut as a catwalk model during Milan Fashion Week on Friday, September 22.
‘Natalia, I’m so proud of you! You did it mom!!!!β Vanessa, 41, wrote via Instagram. βI love you so much and I’m so happy for you @nataliabryant! Bellisima! π Versace! β€οΈ.β
Natalia, 20, walked in the Versace Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 show alongside the likes Gigi Hadid And Kendall Jenner. Hours later, she walked in the Boss Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 fashion show.
βIt still feels like a dream. I am beyond honored and grateful,β Natalia said via Instagram after the shows. βThis was such an incredible experience, I had an amazing time and felt so much love and support through it all. β₯οΈ.β
The college junior (she attends the University of Southern California) signed with IMG Models in February 2021. She told Fashion On Friday, she said that while she was nervous about her runway debut, she felt calmer after meeting the designer Donatella Versace.
βShe was so welcoming and sweet and made me feel so comfortable, especially since it was my first runway,β said Bryant. “Meeting her definitely helped calm the nerves.”
![Natalia Bryant](https://www.usmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Natalia-Bryant-runway-debut.jpg?w=700&quality=86&strip=all)
Natalia Bryant makes her catwalk debut for Versace in Milan.
Pietro D’Aprano/Getty ImagesShe added that she takes advice from Vanessa when it comes to the perfect runway. βI’ve always loved watching videos Naomi [Campbell] as I walk the runway along with videos of other iconic supermodels I look up to,β Natalia shared Fashion. βMy mother says: ‘Walk like Naomi, but don’t forget to be yourself, give your own style to your walk and always with your head held high.’β
Natalia is the eldest of Vanessa’s children with the late Kobe Bryant, who died at the age of 41 in a helicopter crash in 2020 along with 13-year-old daughter Gianna. Natalia’s younger sisters are Bianka, 6, and Capri, 4.
The model honors the memory of the late NBA star in many ways, including two necklaces that she regularly wears.
‘This is a necklace that says ‘Slim’. It was my nickname growing up,β she explained in a video for Vogue’s beauty secrets series in December 2022. βI was just so eensy-teensy. All my sweaters said “Slim.” I didn’t grow into sweaters until I was older, so my dad always called me ‘Smart.’
Natalia also showed off a second necklace with a gold medallion in honor of the Bryant family’s Mamba and Mambacita Foundation. The organization is working to provide funding to underserved athletes in honor of Kobe and Gianna Bryant. βI actually always carry this locket with me,β she said. β[The engraving] says: ‘Dedication makes dreams come true.’