The Spoiled Brats of 'Next Gen: NYC' Are Beefing

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. We've just got two questions. Is it so chic? Is it very chic?

Next Gen: NYC is a show primarily about the children of rich people beefing. Next Gen: NYC is also a show about rich people using their poorer friends as proxies for said beefs. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Next Gen: NYC is a show about the children of middle class people trying their best to fit in with rich people by beefing with each other.

As the child of recent middle class entrants from Farm Town, America — who happens to work at a fashion magazine in New York City — I feel pity for everyone involved.

This is not to say the squabbles aren't downright hilarious. We have the children of Real Housewives yelling at party girls for doing drugs and not washing their hands. We have billionaires beefing with prep school graduates over their shared attraction to the children of Real Housewives. We have nepo parent cameos and scenes where camera people and producers have to watch 20-somethings record front-facing TikTok videos. There's even an extended sequence in the first season where an influencer cries about the work it takes to afford a pink G-Wagon in New York City. (All love, girl, thanks for the good TV.)

There's even the lingering shadow of something dubbed the "crypto torture townhouse." For legal reasons, we'll leave it there.

Seeing as these crazy kids are squarely participants in the Gen Z generation, they clothe themselves in bandage dresses and too much Van Cleef and middle parts and frosty eyeshadow and baggy jeans. Wait, this all sounds oddly familiar. Are we sure it's not 2000 and something? Are we sure The O.C. isn't re-running when I get home from high school? Anyway, before the deja vu overtakes me — shall we talk about it?

Hi Emira! The former PAPER beauty guru is back in a big way, running these kids like the head honcho she was born to be. If they're not actively deferring to her they are competing with her for dominance, which is a nice change of pace for beautiful women on Bravo of a particular persuasion like the two of us. Emphasis on beautiful — the girl dresses for pageants, which is neither here nor there. But it does help her stand out in a sea of business casual and dresses one might wear to The Box.

Likewise, fuck Charlie! PAPER stands with Emira on the side of justice.

If she's not in something tight and slinky, she's dressed like it's her birthday and she'll cry if she wants to. Here was her fit to the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, which I found stunning. That said: does the light up phone clip ever feel overwhelming, even overstimulating? I can't imagine the anxiety it would induce to feel it in my little clutch all the time, beckoning for more content.

Speaking of outfits where one is having a party and they'll cry if they want to: I gasped at this shot, where Emira looks like an actual princess of a European country I've never heard of. Her tits are perky and the bust is embellished. Also note the neckline — it's a particular favorite of hers, and we'll see it repeated over and over again this season.

An aside: while I'm sure the nose highlight and contour is something one picks up when they're a world renowned beauty guru, it might be a touch distracting on Bravo's cameras, which are not a controlled environment like one's home studio, or pocket glam light. I think if Emira knew this she'd tone it down in the wild, or perhaps not! God knows I'm never putting down my Clinique Black Honey, which I've had longer than most of this cast have been alive. And they clock me for it everyday! Beautiful women make do.

Emira and Ariana are interesting foils, stylistically. Where Emira trends towards maximalist glam, Ariana favors minimalist garments that emphasize their own simplicity. They also have wildly distinct yet archetypal approaches to makeup, which is interesting when sat next to each other. Neither of these dresses are much to write home about, but I would purchase the red one gladly. I'm also curious about this square, black French tip mani. What's up with that?

Doesn't Ariana look exactly like her mom when projected in the sky like this? I just found myself oddly moved but the cinematography here, which had a melodramatic flair that's quite engaging.

I love that Riley has two modes of dress in the confessional booth this season: that video of the girl in the beret speaking bad French in Paris, and the girl boss mother of a particularly bright only child. Obsessed doesn't quite capture how much I love these two outfits. It's everything that works best in the confessional booth: so stylish it's silly, with a distinct personality that expresses some particular trait of the person. Here, we see the effects of her world travels as she forsakes responsibility post-graduation Similarly, there are underlying hints of the sense of responsibility she labors under, what with her looming grad school applications and having been a Real Housewives star for the entirety of her waking life.

Aren't we all quite bored of Brooks Marks showing up in blazers and jackets and leather with nothing interesting to say and a distinct lack of an identifiable personality? Perhaps it's just me. The lackadaisical affect he puts on for the cameras has clearly made him a star, to some, but there's very little fashion acumen on display, for all he likes to puff up his chest and talk about "his business." Maybe if I was rich, I'd make wearing greige and navy basics my business too.

Georgia McCann, it seems I've grown quite fond of you, like we knew each other in a past life, where we both found ourselves working the kitchens of a cruel mistress in Medieval times, stealing scraps and talking about the far off court full of princes and princesses and knights on white horses. Perhaps we played in the fields, before that accident with the cart took my ability to walk, or even dream.

Whatever the reason, I like that her two modes of dress this season are Dune extra in a scene with Lea Seydoux, or that beleaguered girl you meet in the yurt at Nowadays with a crazy story about her ex to repeat ad infinitum.

Gia Giudice loves to talk about her mother. Gia Giudice loves to live in New Jersey. Gia Giudice loves to wear a corset and leather pants. I mean, if I had a coin for every time a scene involving Gia involved all three, I'd have two coins. Not a lot of coins, but it's weird it's happened twice.

When Gia is not posted up in New Jersey imitating her mother from before she went to prison, she's strutting the mean streets of Hoboken in a suede thigh high with a nude lip gloss on. She's sort of — and walk with me here — the Italian-American answer to Christian Girl Autumn.

Ava is an interesting case study in someone whose nepotism parent actually hinders their professional life, what with those eviction notices and seeming brokenness. Still, she's determined to forge her own path as a model, although we've seen more talk about modeling than actual modeling. She's also forging her own path with this blue eyeshadow, which seems to be the more successful of her ventures. Perhaps she can collab with someone on a palette in case the catalog work doesn't pan out?

Charlie Zakkour

This nobody is still on the show, driving the plot despite being a void of charisma and the type to hang around people that own the "crypto torture townhouse." Watching him slowly implode as a man who always got everything he's wanted in life has been particularly fun. Each episode, his descent into madness continues, while he puffs his chest and peacocks around Manhattan like nothing bothers him much.

That said, the jean jacket and hoodie combos have got to go.

Rowan Henchy

Rowan is the daughter of Brooke Shields. So far, her contribution to the show has been filming with Brook Shields. At least this dress is sparkly!

Photos courtesy of Bravo/NBCUniversal