Nuevo Culture

Nearest and Dearest: Paloma Elsesser Has a Joyful (and Glittering) Family Reunion

It’s a reunion for the ages! After a year on opposite coasts, four generations of Shockley-Elsessers finally come together, laden with the kind of jewelry worth holding dear—before eventually passing down.

Necklace by Maison Mayle. Tiffany & Co. locket. Rings by L’Enchanteur, Brent Neale, and Marisa Klass. Theophilio dress, $235; theophilio.com.

Photographed by Daniel Jackson, Vogue, June/July 2021

Model Ama Elsesser likens their troop of siblings to “a tribe—a crazy tribe. We ride for each other.” Their “centerpoint,” the model says, is their mother, Anedra: “She is our fearless leader and she guides us with love.”

Clockwise from top left: Paloma’s older sister, the director Kanyessa McMahon, wears a Proenza Schouler dress, $1,490; proenzaschouler.com. Jennifer Fisher earring. Tiffany & Co. bracelet. Her six-year-old son, Daschel, wears a Gap jacket. De Vera headpiece. Paloma wears De Vera earrings. Necklaces by Cartier High Jewelry and Foundrae. Sage wears a Calvin Klein T-shirt. Patek Philippe watch. Paloma wears a Dolce & Gabbana dress, $1,975; dolcegabbana.com. Prounis Jewelry earring. De Vera necklace. Paloma’s mother, Anedra Shockley-Elsesser, wears a Hanifa blouse; hanifa.co. Mahnaz Collection earring. Featherstone Fine Jewelry necklace. Verdura brooch.

Photographed by Daniel Jackson, Vogue, June/July 2021

They may be L.A. born and raised, but the Elsessers have established a front of their own on the East Coast. “I just moved to Brooklyn, and my brother, Sage, lives, like, two blocks away from me,” Paloma says. Ama and Kanyessa McMahon, their eldest sister (who shares a Lower East Side loft with her husband and son), aren’t far away, either. 
“Having a family unit in New York has laid the groundwork for me to feel safe and protected and to flourish here,” Paloma continues.

Necklaces by MG Stones, David Yurman, and Lisa Eisner Jewelry. Monica Rich Kosann locket charm. Marni dress; marni.com.

Photographed by Daniel Jackson, Vogue, June/July 2021

From far left: Anedra Shockley-Elsesser wears a Studio 189 shirtdress, $625; bergdorfgoodman.com. Pomellato earrings. Her 95-year-old mother, Audrey Shockley, wears a Studio 189 robe, $525; bergdorfgoodman.com. Tory Burch dress, $398; toryburch.com. Kentshire necklace. Paloma wears a Gucci dress; gucci.com. Mia Becar sandals. McMahon wears a La Double J dress, $800; shopbop.com. The M Jewelers earring. Neous sandals. Ama wears a Burberry dress; burberry.com. Uniqlo tank top. Necklaces by Scosha and Foundrae. Chanel High Jewelry watch. Panconesi bracelet. Rings by Marisa Klass and Charlotte Chesnais. Neous sandal.

Photographed by Daniel Jackson, Vogue, June/July 2021

“My mother loves a lot of middle names,” McMahon says, “and I followed her lead, so Daschel’s full name is Daschel Tennessee Sharkey McMahon. Tennessee is to represent both my Grandma Audrey and my “Papa” Madison, as they were both born there. While they met and spent their 57 years together in Los Angeles, I love that, in a way, they were fated in their foundation…I wanted my son to know all things good in me, and thus him, flow from them.”

Paloma wears a Simone Rocha dress, $2,300; simonerocha.com. Necklaces by Bvlgari High Jewelry and Dubini. Shockley-Elsesser wears a Tory Burch dress, $428; toryburch.com. Gray & Davis earrings. Alexander Calder necklace. Rings by L’Enchanteur, Sai by Rachel Saidani, Loren Nicole, and Eli Halili. Shockley wears a Tory Burch peacoat ($698) and shirt ($298); toryburch.com. Buccellati earrings. Brooches by Tiffany & Co. and Gucci.

Photographed by Daniel Jackson, Vogue, June/July 2021

Visiting Los Angeles for work last September, Paloma saw Anedra and Audrey for the first time in six months. Having grown up with her grandparents as downstairs neighbors, she’d felt their absence acutely. “That was the longest that I hadn’t hugged my grandma in my entire life,” she says.

Loewe dress, $1,450; loewe.com. David Webb earrings. Necklaces by Panconesi, Marisa Klass (with Castro NYC x Have A Heart charm), Luis Morais, and Van Cleef & Arpels.

Photographed by Daniel Jackson, Vogue, June/July 2021

“To be, all of us, together with our mom and grandma and Dasch,” McMahon says, “it was as it always is: chaotically comfortable. It felt like home, because wherever those six are, I am home.”

 In this story: hair, Latisha Chong; makeup, Romy Soleimani.

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