In the 90s she was one of the most photographed women in the world, but then Linda Evangelista went quiet after a botched cosmetic surgery. Despite her "disfigurement," the former supermodel is now making a comeback in the fashion world.
After revealing last year that she was "permanently deformed" after a cosmetic procedure and "recluse" due to her "disfigurement," few thought Linda Evangelista would ever return to modeling. But as the 90s supermodel now announces, she is part of the new Fendi campaign.
On Instagram, the 57-year-old posted a photo of herself presenting the fashion house's new collection: Evangelista is wearing several pink caps and two silver handbags. "On September 9, 2022, Fendi will host a special runway show in New York City to celebrate the 25th anniversary" of the iconic handbag called Fendi Baguettes, she captioned the shot. She leaves it open whether she will also walk on the catwalk herself.
Although little can be seen of her face and body in the picture, Linda Evangelista seems to have the worst behind her, at least in the chin area. The model revealed to People magazine in February that she had swelling on her chin, hips and chest after a fat-freezing treatment in 2015. The very areas that she "wanted to shrink suddenly grew and hardened. Then they went numb."
A doctor finally diagnosed her with paradoxical adipose hyperplasia (PAH). This is a side effect that can occur in well under one percent of cases with the non-invasive procedure that Evangelista also underwent. Tissue volume increases rather than decreases at the treated site. "I loved being on the catwalk," the former supermodel quoted People as saying. "Now I dread meeting people who know me." She herself no longer looks in the mirror - "it doesn't look like me anymore".
Although she underwent several conventional liposuctions in 2017, the problem has not gone away, she said, according to People. She is still unable to move around without compression clothing because the affected areas would otherwise become sore. She sued the parent company of the company where she had the surgery for $50 million.
