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There\u2019s a particular kind of chaos that occurs when fall break hits and thousands of college seniors descend upon Las Vegas. Apple Martin is in that chaos \u2014 texting friends, running on a 7:30 a.m. flight and three hours of sleep, trying to make sense of what 350,000 people are doing in Vegas in October. She laughs when I ask. \u201cVanderbilt doesn\u2019t get a memorial day break like everyone else,\u201d she says. \u201cSo we take advantage of fall break.\u201d The 21-year-old is simultaneously fronting two glossy firsts with Gap and Self-Portrait \u2014 and she\u2019s also in her senior year, which means last papers and late nights.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s striking is how naturally she carries it all\u2014no performance, no pretense. Apple talks about her freshman self with clear-eyed humor: the version who thought she might be a lawyer, cared too much about fitting in, and was still figuring out what made her happy. \u201cI was so anxious about how people saw me,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd then at some point, I realized I can\u2019t control that. All I can do is what feels right.\u201d Now, as a senior, she\u2019s saying yes more\u2014to theater (onstage and, unexpectedly, in props), to a short film with friends that\u2019s gaining traction, to music with the campus band, and, yes, to campaigns.<\/p>\n
Her favorite subject? English. Specifically, three courses she took with a professor who made her fall madly for Virginia Woolf. But despite being the daughter of Gwyneth Paltrow and Coldplay\u2019s Chris Martin, she\u2019s a typical college student: She journals, scrolls in bed, and loves a baby-doll dress with Danish boots or vintage jeans with a white tee. If she doesn\u2019t love her outfit, she might not go to class.<\/p>\n
What follows is our conversation, edited for clarity and length.<\/p>\n
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\n From left: <\/strong>Photo: Ryan McGinleyPhoto: Ryan McGinley\n <\/p>\n \n From top: <\/strong>Photo: Ryan McGinleyPhoto: Ryan McGinley\n <\/p>\n You said the clich\u00e9 about college being \u201ctransformative\u201d actually turned out to be true for you. What changed between freshman Apple and senior-year Apple?<\/strong> So what\u2019s on your plate now?<\/strong> What are you ready to leave behind when you graduate \u2014 and what will you miss painfully?<\/strong> You light up when you talk about English class. What\u2019s been a favorite?<\/strong> Be honest: How many all-nighters?<\/strong> Walk me through a normal day at school \u2014 what does that rhythm look like for you?<\/strong> How did your style evolve from decorating a dorm to living in a shared house?<\/strong> You mentioned skin care. What\u2019s the routine?<\/strong> Are you mostly cooking these days, or ordering in between classes and everything else?<\/strong> Vegetarian favorites?<\/strong> What\u2019s the best college advice your parents gave you, and what didn\u2019t<\/strong> Campus style \u2014 what are you throwing on when you\u2019re off to class?<\/strong> Three closets you\u2019d raid, real or fictional.<\/strong> You did your first campaigns this year: Gap and Self-Portrait. What felt most you about each?<\/strong> You grew up adjacent to fashion. What\u2019s a style lesson you\u2019ll keep?<\/strong> Where are you finding vintage?<\/strong> You\u2019re in a very \u201cfirsts\u201d year. What are you hoping for next \u2014 not five years from now, just next?<\/strong> Stay in touch.<\/p>\n Get the Cut newsletter delivered daily<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n
Freshman year, I thought I wanted to be a lawyer. I was deeply insecure \u2014 so anxious about what people thought. I\u2019d walk to class and obsess over whether my outfit looked okay, whether I was involved enough or smart enough. I kept myself away from the arts because I was worried about perception, and because I\u2019m constantly compared to my parents or even my friends. That lasted about two years. Then, at the end of junior year, a lot of transformative things happened. It was hard, but I came out of it realizing I can\u2019t control how people see me. I can only choose what makes me happy. Going into senior year with that mind-set has been relaxing and freeing \u2014 and it\u2019s made everything more fun. I\u2019m doing more of what I actually love.<\/p>\n
A lot of theater \u2014 onstage and props, which I\u2019d never done before and love. I\u2019m working on a short film with two of my close friends that\u2019s getting real, which is wild and exciting. We\u2019ve reached out to professional actors and gotten traction. I\u2019m also doing some music things with friends in a campus band. It feels like there\u2019s this little creative collective at Vandy that I\u2019ve found, and it makes me excited to wake up and do the day.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m excited to leave behind writing papers and studying for exams. (I used to love essays. Senior year said \u201cno more.\u201d) I also want to leave behind the kind of routine where every day feels the same and you forget you\u2019re a person. I\u2019ll miss the spontaneous togetherness: running into someone on campus, grabbing a coffee outside, a last-minute dinner where everyone\u2019s somehow free because everyone\u2019s nearby. You can find that post-grad, but it\u2019s not the same.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve taken three classes with the same professor \u2014 Jane Austen, then the modern British novel (Forster and Virginia Woolf), and now another seminar. I fell madly in love with Woolf \u2014 A Room of One\u2019s Own has me in a chokehold. The class is so collaborative; it\u2019s just people bringing wildly different interpretations. It\u2019s opened my brain.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m a procrastinator, so a couple \u201chalf all-nighters\u201d \u2014 up until four, then three hours of sleep. Probably once or twice a semester. I work better under pressure, unfortunately.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m an early riser \u2014 up at seven. We fostered two cats for a bit, so I\u2019d feed them, make coffee, then scroll in bed for 30 minutes. Skin care, a little journaling, class, home for lunch, and another class. My favorite part is late afternoon when my roommates trickle in and our neighbors pop over. Someone\u2019s cooking, someone\u2019s doing work on the couch, someone\u2019s asking what we\u2019re doing that night. I make a \u201cCup of Calm\u201d tea, light a candle, shower, pajamas, and I fall asleep watching something.<\/p>\n
Freshman year was minimal out of necessity \u2014 storage-maximizing more than self-actualizing. Now I like to build a room over time: a watercolor I made went up, a Scrabble score sheet from a great game with my dad, and little things that become a collage of memories. It feels personal and changeable.<\/p>\n
I alternate between two cleansers (both Goop because \u2026 perks, and they\u2019re great): the green cleanser and the Cloudberry exfoliator. Then a moisturizer I found at Whole Foods, sometimes eye cream, always sunscreen. No nine-step routine \u2014 I get confused by layering rules.<\/p>\n
If we all grocery-shop the same day, I\u2019m lucky to fit tortillas in the fridge. When I cook, it\u2019s simple, quick things I love. Ordering in, my top three are: a burrito (California ruined me for Nashville), pasta (I feel guilty because I can make it), and Indian food \u2014 forever.<\/p>\n
Everything. South Indian, North Indian \u2014 I can eat the menu. I love dosas, dal, a good vegetable korma. Now I want Indian food.<\/p>\n
quite land?<\/strong>
My mom only did college for two months, so she had more \u201cliving alone\u201d advice than academic hacks. The best thing from both my parents was, \u201cYou won\u2019t be in trouble. If you\u2019re in danger or sad or just need a hug, call us.\u201d That made me feel safe. My dad warned me not to leave studying until the night before. I don\u2019t always follow that one.<\/p>\n
If I don\u2019t like my outfit, I might skip class. (Kidding. Kind of.) Lately, it\u2019s a baby-doll dress with Danish boots that look like Frye, or vintage jeans with a white tee, cool shoes, and jewelry. A simple template plus interesting accessories.<\/p>\n
Jane Birkin. David Bowie (if we were the same size). Cher in the \u201970s. If I had one of those gowns, I\u2019d wear it to cook dinner. Truly.<\/p>\n
Gap felt like me because the clothes are so classic \u2014 of an era I love \u2014 and doing it with my mom, Zac Posen, and Mario Sorrenti was surreal. Self-Portrait was the sweetest team and a little outside my comfort zone in the best way. The shoot felt like being a fairy princess frolicking through nature. The two together show different sides of me: playful, character-driven fantasy, and then something deeply close to family and heart.<\/p>\n
Save things. Clothes come back around. Give them a second life \u2014 sustainability, yes, but also story. I love vintage for the vibes and the history.<\/p>\n
Etsy is my best friend \u2014 hits and misses included. IRL vintage is fun, but the markups are real, so I go when I\u2019m ready to splurge. I also get anxious shopping with friends. Am I taking too long? Are they bored? Solo missions are bliss.<\/p>\n
I want people to see who I actually am, not just versions of me through other people\u2019s eyes. I\u2019m private on social, so I\u2019m working on being comfortable sharing my authentic self. I want to keep doing things that push me and keep working with my friends \u2014 their energy is everything. I\u2019m manifesting \u2026 honestly, anything. I\u2019m trying to take it one day at a time and not scare myself out of dreaming big.<\/p>\n