How do you style Emily Ratjakowski, the queen of the crop top and washboard ab reveal, when she is pregnant? It’s not the easiest of jobs. The navel-grazing shirt has become such a signature look of Emrata that most people (well, at least me) would be able to identify her belly button in a lineup. Over the past few months though, Ms. Ratajkowski’s taut tummy has been noticeably underwraps, both on her Instagram account and in paparazzi photos, for good reason. Her stylist, Vogue alum, Emma Morrison, has been helping her navigate her first trimester. “We were definitely just waiting for the appropriate time for her to tell the world,” says Morrison. “And now she’s super excited to show it off.”
When the lockdown restrictions were in full effect earlier this year, Morrison was able to get a leg-up on styling Ratajkowski’s changing body. Much like everyone else, the model was in the mood for comfortable, baggy outfits. Later, as COVID-19 restrictions loosened, she segued from sweatpants and T-shirts to oversize suits, a look that was a tried-and-true Ratajkowski signature. “When the world was picking up a little bit more, we wanted to have a little bit of fun with what she was wearing. I was already feeling it [baggy silhouettes] then and it was perfect because that’s when she gave me the big reveal she was having a baby,” says Morrison. “It aligned authentically between the two of us. It was a natural progression from wearing sweatsuits, to the world opening up and her wearing a comfy slouchy suit.”
As for Ratajkowski’s maternity style aesthetic, Morrison has a wide-ranging moodboard. One is an image of Amber Valetta in louche tailoring from the September 2019 issue of Vogue styled by Camilla Nickerson. Another features Valletta again, this time shot by Juergen Teller for the December 1996 issue of I-D Magazine and styled with a completely different attitude. “It was totally bodycon dresses with cutouts,” says Morrison. And while Morrison cites high fashion references for the most part, there is also an underlying pop cultural influence. “I want her maternity style to kind of be like a sexy version of Shiv from Succession,” says Morrison. “Just hot.”
As Ratajkowksi begins to embrace her baby bump, Morrison doesn’t want her style to deviate too much from what it was pre-pregnancy. “It’s such a powerful time for her. She’s running a company, she’s writing a book and she’s carrying a child,” she says. “I really want her wardrobe to reflect all of her current empowerment.” In that sense, we can expect for Ratajkowski to carry her boardroom sensibilities forward into her second and third trimesters. “I feel like pregnant women tend to avoid tailored looks, which of course makes sense since there’s physical construction. There’s a way that we can figure out a style of dressing and appropriate outfits that still are super tailored and super sharp and super chic. We’re not sacrificing any of her tried-and-true aesthetic just because now that there’s an added element.”
With that in mind, it only makes sense that crop tops are also on the agenda for Emrata. “We’ve always celebrated Emily’s midsection, so dressing her for pregnancy is really just the continuation of a theme,” says Morrison. “I want to do a bunch of oversized button downs just buttoned to the bra. So when she walks through, there is just that hint of the belly.”