If you haven’t heard the name Emma Ferrer in fashion yet, don’t worry – you’re not alone. Emma Ferrer, a 20-year-old student at Florence Academy of Art, is making waves thanks to a very famous family: she’s the granddaughter of Audrey Hepburn.
“The first images I have of [Audrey] are, interestingly enough, when she was quite young,” Emma Ferrer says of her grandmother in this month’s issue of Harper’s Bazaar , where she also graces the cover. “I remember seeing a photo of her jumping on a trampoline; this was before I understood that she was famous. But I remember thinking that she looked like a friend I wish I could have had.”
Emma is the daughter of Sean Ferrer, Audrey’s first son with actor Mel Ferrer. (Audrey’s second son, Luca Dotti, came from her second marriage to Italian psychiatrist Andrea Dotti.) Emma was born in 1994, a year after Audrey died of a rare form of abdominal cancer. Never getting the chance to meet her famous grandmother, Emma spent most of her life in Florence, practicing ballet and focusing on art. She has the same graceful, float like posture of her grandmother, with a tall frame and long legs.
Richard Avedon’s grandson photographs Audrey Hepburn’s granddaughter for our September issue:: http://t.co/YaiRU3rvMt pic.twitter.com/LhT87ped60
— Harper’s Bazaar (@harpersbazaarus) August 12, 2014
“I’ve been questioning a lot lately what [Audrey] means to me,” Emma says:
I knew her image, of course, and that I happened to be, by pure chance, related to her. But as a child I couldn’t really relate to Audrey Hepburn, the actress. To me, she was family. Honestly, I haven’t seen all of her movies. When I watched Breakfast at Tiffany’s, I enjoyed it the same way any young girl would.
Emma’s photoshoot for Bazaar is a full-on tribute to Audrey, striking similar poses and styles to her grandmother’s most famous looks. As for any hand-me-downs, Emma says he loves Audrey’s old cashmere turtlenecks, “which I adore and wear all throughout the winter.”
“I remember thinking that she looked like a friend I wish I could have had.” http://t.co/SOEM6fD8Hz pic.twitter.com/923fJFMjmO
— Harper’s Bazaar (@harpersbazaarus) August 12, 2014
On the significance of embracing Audrey, Emma says,
Somehow, seeing her in her youth and brilliance reminded me that I do, in fact, carry her spirit along with me. Sometimes when I was younger, I felt confused toward what having a grandmother like her could mean in my life. But I am now understanding.
Image via Harper’s Bazaar