Linda Evangelista makes modelling return after being ‘brutally disfigured’ by cosmetic surgery
Linda Evangelista has returned to modelling after being left "brutally disfigured" by cosmetic surgery.
The model, 57, shared a photo of herself to Instagram from the latest Fendi campaign, in what appears to be the first modelling project she's done since saying she'd been "permanently deformed" by a cosmetic procedure several years ago.
In the image she's seen wearing a stack of pink satin caps and holding multiple bags. Her face is partially covered by pink sunglasses but otherwise unobscured.
In the accompanying caption, Evangelista revealed that the luxury fashion house will be hosting a “special fashion show” in New York City in honour of the 25-year anniversary of the Fendi baguette bag.
The model added that she is “so grateful” to those involved in the campaign.
Since sharing the post, Evangelista has been inundated with messages of support, many sharing their joy about the model stepping in front of the camera once again.
"No one puts Linda in the corner.. you just can't keep that kinda glamor [sic] down," one fan wrote.
"Yes! We love to see it Linda," another agreed.
"This is so brilliant! You and the all-star team together again," yet another user commented.
"Still the greatest model of all time," another wrote simply.
“You will always be the best! Welcome back!” someone else commented under the image.
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Last year the model explained why she removed herself from the public eye, revealing she'd been left "permanently deformed" as a result of a CoolSculpting procedure.
Via a lengthy statement on Instagram, the model described how she had suffered a series of rare side effects after undergoing a fat-freezing process, and that two corrective surgeries had been “unsuccessful”.
"Today I took a big step towards righting a wrong that I have suffered and have kept to myself for over five years," she wrote.
"To my followers who have wondered why I have not been working while my peers' careers have been thriving, the reason is that I was brutally disfigured by Zeltiq's CoolSculpting procedure which did the opposite of what it promised," she continued.
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The model went on to explain that she hadn't been made aware of certain risks of the procedure, including Paradoxical Adipose Hyperplasia (PAH), which she said she has developed.
"PAH has not only destroyed my livelihood, it has sent me into a cycle of deep depression, profound sadness, and the lowest depths of self-loathing," she continued.
"In the process I have become a recluse."
In February 2022, after claiming she had been living hidden away for almost five years, Evangelista shared the first photos of her body since the ordeal with People magazine, and opened up about the experience that she said left her "brutally disfigured".
Posting on Instagram she wrote: "I'm not done telling my story, and I will continue sharing my experience to rid myself of shame, learnt to love myself again, and hopefully help others in the process."
Within three months of getting the treatment, Evangelista says she started noticing bulges at her chin, thighs and bra area, the exact places she'd wanted to shrink.
"I tried to fix it myself, thinking I was doing something wrong," she told People, saying she began dieting and exercising more, before finally going to her doctor in 2016, who then diagnosed her with Paradoxical adipose hyperplasia (PAH), a rare side effect of the procedure.
"I was like, 'What the hell is that?' And he told me no amount of dieting, and no amount of exercise was ever going to fix it."
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She also opened up about the physical and mental pain she has endured from her altered body and her regrets about undergoing cosmetic procedures.
"Why do we feel the need to do these things [to our bodies]? I always knew I would age," she said. "And I know that there are things a body goes through. But I just didn't think I would look like this.
"I don't recognise myself physically, but I don't recognise me as a person any longer either. She is sort of gone."
In a statement to People, a representative for CoolSculpting says the procedure "has been well studied with more than 100 scientific publications and more than 11 million treatments performed worldwide" and added that known rare side effects like PAH "continue to be well-documented in the CoolSculpting information for patients and health care providers."
