fashion. culture. music.
AUGUST 2, 2026
Nepo Done Right
Every time I scroll on social media, I come across a new nepo baby: Alabama Barker, Preston Pippin, Romi Mars, and the list goes on. Then I go down the rabbit hole, wanting to know everything about them of course (I am so chronically online). I connect the dots until there are no more dots to connect. Who are their parents, and did growing up in that world shape who they became? It’s fascinating, honestly. However, some nepo babies play the role a little better than others.
There are those that don’t use the silver spoon to their advantage, don’t capitalize off the life they were born into. Then, there are those that take that same silver spoon and actually learn how to cook with it. Frankie Belle Stark is one of them. Daughter to Richard and Laurie Stark, the co-founders of a brand that does “niche” so beautifully: Chrome Hearts. A brand that has relied on word of mouth, and a mysterious image, to gain popularity.
Following in her parents’ footsteps, at the young age of 15, Frankie founded her very own bikini brand, Dipped In Blue. The brand was inspired by her upbringing on the Malibu coastline, and the idea that swimwear should be both functional and expressive. Much like Chrome Hearts, Dipped In Blue embodies a certain enigmatic quality, it isn’t advertised with flashy campaigns, and it isn’t plastered across every billboard in LA. Its cult following is built almost entirely on discretion, the same instinct that’s made her parents’ brand a status symbol for decades.
In an interview with Vogue Hong Kong, Frankie claimed that her aesthetic stemmed from the creative household she grew up in. She said, “I’ve never felt pressure to dress a certain way. I’ve always loved to play dress up and experiment with clothes. I just wanna have fun and my clothing always exudes that feeling.” This is the answer of someone who was raised in a household where fashion was not a performance, it was simply a part of everyday life. This lack of pressure to take on the family business or “perform” a certain way, is exactly what makes Frankie so authentic. Dipped In Blue looks like the brand of a person who was never told what fashion is supposed to look like, rather what she believes fashion looks like.
I’m of the strong belief that if you are forced to behave a certain way or think a certain thing, you automatically take the opposing stance. It seems that’s simply how we are hard wired. When given the freedom to find what you actually like and find the person you actually are, you become authentic. I think this is what some nepotism babies lack, authenticity. Frankie Belle Stark is only just getting started, and if this is what authenticity looks like at the beginning, I can’t wait to see what it looks like fully grown.
