My Necklaces Are a Nod to Late Dad Kobe Bryant

Near her coronary heart. Natalia Bryant revealed the touching that means behind the 2 necklaces she wears day-after-day — and their connection to her late father, Kobe Bryant.

“This can be a necklace that claims ‘Slim.’ It was my nickname rising up,” the mannequin, 19, defined in a video for Vogue‘s Magnificence Secrets and techniques sequence that was revealed on Thursday, December 1, whereas displaying the sparkly nameplate necklace to the digital camera. “I used to be simply so eensy-teensy. All my jerseys mentioned ‘Slim’ — I didn’t develop into the jerseys till I used to be older, so my dad all the time known as me ‘Slim.’”

Natalia additionally showcased a second necklace that includes a gold medallion honoring the Bryant household’s Mamba and Mambacita Basis. The group works to offer funding for underserved athletes in honor of Kobe and Gianna Bryant. “I truly put on this medallion with me on a regular basis,” she confessed. “[The engraving] says ‘Dedication makes desires come true.”

She continued: “It’s a quote from my dad, and it’s one thing I stay by.”

The NBA legend — who additionally shares daughters Bianka, 5, and Capri, 3, with Vanessa Bryant — died in January 2020 on the age of 41 alongside his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and 7 different passengers when their helicopter crashed right into a hillside in Calabasas, California. The group have been touring to Kobe’s Mamba Sports activities Academy in Thousand Oaks for basketball observe on the time.

Natalia has ceaselessly shared her favourite reminiscences of Kobe and Gianna since their tragic deaths. In September 2021, the College of Southern California scholar opened up about bonding with the athlete over their shared love of films. “My dad and I’d all the time watch as many motion pictures as we will and we’d go on, like, film marathons,” she mentioned in a YouTube video for IMG Fashions. “After which we’d all the time analyze as many motion pictures as we will, and we’d discuss it for months. Anyplace we’d go, we’d simply maintain speaking about completely different movies and the way it, like, reminds us of the place we’re. … Issues like that simply actually impressed me, and I used to be like, ‘I wish to do that, perpetually.’”

Later that month, she praised Kobe and Vanessa for ensuring that their youngsters stayed grounded. “Rising up, my dad and mom made it as regular as attainable,” Natalia instructed Teen Vogue. “Thank God they did. It’s not, ‘Oh, she’s Natalia Bryant, she’s Kobe Bryant’s daughter.’ Lots of instances they noticed me as, ‘She’s simply Nani.’”

Describing the previous L.A. Lakers participant as “the very best woman dad ever,” the teenager defined that sharing her reminiscences of her father with the world has been therapeutic. “I like speaking about my dad,” Natalia instructed the outlet. “It’s bittersweet, however I take pleasure in speaking about him greater than it’s unhappy for me.”

The California native as soon as once more mirrored on her dad and mom’ need for her to stay a traditional life in her Vogue video. “I wished to mannequin after I was youthful, however me and my mother had an settlement that I wanted to get by highschool first,” Natalia mentioned in Thursday’s video. “And I’m so glad she made me undergo highschool earlier than modeling as a result of … modeling is lots of work.”