At the 2026 Fashion Media Awards, Kai Schreiber received The Daily Front Row’s Breakthrough Model of the Year award before returning to the runway for Thom Browne during New York Fashion Week.
Kai Schreiber has reached a major milestone in her young modeling career. On September 11, the 17-year-old model received The Daily Front Row’s Breakthrough Model of the Year award at the 2026 Fashion Media Awards in New York City.
Schreiber chose a lime green Valentino look to accept the award, with Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber among those there to support her. The Daily Front Row confirmed Schreiber as one of the evening’s honorees alongside names including Twiggy, Wisdom Kaye, Jordyn Woods and Bethann Hardison.
A Historic Fashion Media Awards Win
During her acceptance speech, Schreiber acknowledged that she was the first trans girl to receive the Breakthrough Model of the Year honor.
She described the moment as “surreal” and thanked the trans women who came before her, saying their work paved the way for her in the fashion industry. She also thanked her family and Valentino, the house that introduced her to the runway in 2025.
Her modeling career began at Valentino’s Fall 2025 show in Paris, where she walked in Alessandro Michele’s collection at 16.
For more on the house, read Vanity Teen’s coverage of Alessandro Michele’s appointment at Valentino.
Kai Schreiber Walks Thom Browne Spring 2027
Just days after receiving the award, Schreiber returned to the runway for Thom Browne’s Spring/Summer 2027 show at The Shed during New York Fashion Week.
The September 15 presentation centered on Browne’s insect-inspired collection, with butterflies, bees and other motifs appearing across the designs. Schreiber appeared in one of the show’s dramatic looks, wearing a printed bodysuit and skirt with a mesh face covering.
Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber Support Their Daughter
Watts and Schreiber, who separated in 2016, attended the Fashion Media Awards together and later sat in the front row at Thom Browne to watch Kai walk.
The appearances came during an increasingly visible period in Schreiber’s modeling career. In addition to her Valentino debut, she has appeared in fashion campaigns and continued building her runway portfolio across major fashion events.
Schreiber’s Fashion Media Awards win and Thom Browne appearance have made this New York Fashion Week one of the most significant moments of her career so far, placing her alongside a new generation of models shaping the current fashion landscape.