Dannielynn Birkhead took a moment to remind us just how iconic her mother still is, rocking one of her most memorable dresses to a recent event.
The 18-year-old daughter of Anna Nicole Smith gave her late mom a shoutout as she attended a pre-Kentucky Derby gala on Friday, May 2. The teenager re-wore one of the Playboy model's most iconic black dresses to the annual Barnstable Brown Gala, which just so happens to be the exact same event where Smith wore the waist-plunging, open-backed dress 20 years earlier.
Attending the event with her dad, Larry Birkhead, Dannielynn looked like the spitting image of her mom as she replicated the look that Smith wore to the Barnstable Brown Gala in 2004, even duplicating her signature platinum blonde updo.
On the red carpet, Birkhead told reporters that re-wearing the icoinc dress was “closest to a hug [she] can get from her” mom, but the fact that Dannielynn looked so gorgeous in the floor-length black gown was just a plus. The dress features a plunging neckline that went all the way to her waist with crystal bedazzled straps running across her bodice to create mini cutouts. As she turned, she also turned heads, showing off a thigh-high slit in the front as well as a plunging low back that was also accentuated with rhinestone-covered straps holding it in place.
In photos posted to Instagram by her proud father, Dannielynn also paid tribute to her mom by copying Anna Nicole Smith’s makeup look. Gathering her platinum blonde hair in a messy updo with face-framing pieces, the teenage accentuated her features with pink lipstick, a similar blush, and some seriously dramatic lashes. Dannielynn did make the look her own, however, ditching her mom’s statement chandelier earrings in favor of a diamond cuff bracelet, diamond cocktail rings, and black strappy sandal heels.
Birkhead told People that seeing his daughter in the dress brought back bittersweet memories for him.
"It was emotional because the last time I saw that dress was on Anna,” he shared, calling the look “a little edgier for [Dannielynn] than most dresses she wears."
He also revealed that it was Dannielynn's own idea to wear the iconic dress, saying, “She said she chose the dress because it was her Mom’s and 'super cool.'”
"I think she's doing a fashion experiment for herself," he continued to People, adding, “I think it's really meaningful for her to wear. I'm just glad she's going through and starting to wear some of [Smith's clothes] because she could literally pick out an outfit a day for the rest of her life and never wear the same thing twice with everything."