Model Behavior (PLEASE READ POST #1 BEFORE POSTING)

[sixtdaily]

Reading early posts, I thought Linda had written about being abused. Imagine my surprise when finding out she "just" got botched. Of course it's unfortunate, but at the same time I find it hilarious how desperate some models are. Everyone will get old. Instead of accepting it, they will go to great lengths to hide any signs of passing time.

After reading her post this morning, first thing that came to my mind was the Makeover Madness editorial by Steven Meisel (oops)

 

[dodencebt]

I really feel for Linda because the changes she's experiencing while physically not being able to back to a figure she feels more comfortable in must be taking a serious toll on her mental health. I agree that the way she looks now is "normal" for many people at any age, and it doesn't make her less beautiful, but being skinny and fit was all she ever knew, and a non-reversible change like this must be a scary thing to come to terms with. Also, the media hasn't helped over the years.

 

[MulletProof]

Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought what she is talking about here is a surgery for body fat, not a procedure done to her face.

I understood that she had a body procedure done on her face (which sounds so scary!)

Ever since I read an interview she did for Vogue many many years ago where she talked about her miscarriage, and taking a hiatus from modeling after someone called her 'bloated' following an appearance she did at a fashion show in Portugal in the late 90s, and how the other models had something else going on for them (school, business ventures) but she only had modeling.. I've felt a bit of sadness for her, she made it sound (and this is 20 years ago?) like a life without physical perfection is basically just emptiness and solitude. She was so beautiful and probably heard it multiple times a day everyday that it did more damage than good psychologically.. almost like, if I don't look the way I did in 1992, what's my worth. It's kind of scary, and unrealistic. Even this claim that her peers' careers are thriving... they.. aren't? sure they make rare appearances because they have a place in history and in the industry but I would hardly say it's 'thriving', and I very much doubt she'd be able to make a living out of her looks with or without this botched job.. it's an ageist industry, just ask Paulina Porizkova who couldn't even find someone to dress her for the Met and she was pretty big in her heyday.


If she really looks more or less like the picture above, calling herself 'brutally disfigured' is a stretch.. and I'd say.. never too late to build something for yourself besides modeling, surely 'model' is not all a human can be. Participating with some NGOs would do a lot of good to her, it would give her a lot of perspective..

 

[mepps]

If she looks like the pic posted above, then I don't think she's horribly disfigured at all. Just thicker, and middle aged.
I suspect she really did have something done, that botched her. Getting fat is not why she became a recluse. Why else would she need two surgeries, that still couldn't fix it?
She was a stunner in her day, and no one better epitomized Supermodel, the way she id. However, I never got the impression she had anything else going on in her life, besides modeling,
and dating rich/famous men. Unless they marry you, it never ends well. She should be a mogul like Tyra, Naomi, Cindy, or Heidi. Instead she's trapped in her apt, and feeling depressed. I feel bad for her, and hope her revelations today, bring her some new hope.

 

[KoV]

^ I believe the claim is that the cool sculpting procedure caused an increase, rather than a decrease of fat cells. So unless I'm missing something, that really is what she considered a horrible disfigurement. She then got procedures done to try to reverse it, but she says they were unsuccessful.


It seems she's the creative director and VP of a moderately successful skincare line, and she also seemingly models for them. Though several of the photos are obviously vintage, there are some recent ones and she looks far from disfigured, to me. I hope rather than merely show "pity" on one woman for her appearance, some of the movers and shakers offering support to her would help to encourage the idea within the industry that age is not a handicap, a slightly chubbier face is not a disfigurement, and grown-*** women with buying power don't need to be told they need to cling to youth to be seen.

 

[theBlueRider]

I am heartbroken for Linda but also have to support her bravery for talking about something that is affecting a lot of people but are shunned because of their age and gender. Apparently, this condition she is experiencing is happening with a lot of people who have done the procedure.

I have personally been to a doctor's office as well as a spa where this procedure was offered/marketed aggressively. They try to sell as many sessions as possible. There are so many ads and articles name dropping for this procedure too. I saw the bad reviews so I am too afraid to try it. So thank you Linda for bringing more attention to this. Hopefully, it will open up a discussion of the cognitively dissonant things "shunned" ages and genders have to face and juggle.

 

[sixtdaily]

More details about the lawsuit with timeline of her surgeries:
Linda Evangelista Sues 'Fat-Freezing' Cosmetic Company After Procedures Left Her 'Permanently Deformed'

Evangelista is seeking $50 million from Zeltiq after enduring “severe and permanent personal injuries and disfigurement, her pain and suffering, severe emotional distress and mental anguish, and the economic losses that she sustained as a result of being rendered unemployable and unable to earn an income as a model” from the cosmetic procedure.
(...)
Over the period of August 2015 through February 2016, underwent seven treatments using the Zeltiq CoolSculpting System.
(...)
After being diagnosed with PAH, Evangelista claims she approached Zeltiq about the issue, and the company scheduled and offered to pay for “corrective” surgery to remove the areas impacted by PAH. However, on the eve of the July 2016 procedure, Evangelista says Zeltiq demanded that she sign a non-disclosure agreement or they wouldn’t pay for the surgery. She declined to sign the NDA and was forced to pay for the corrective surgery, “performed by Zeltiq’s Preferred Doctor,” herself.

“The ‘corrective’ surgery performed by Zeltiq’s Preferred Doctor was unsuccessful and the fatty hyperplasia returned to the areas where the CoolSculpting System was applied to Ms. Evangelista,” the lawsuit says. A second corrective surgery, which she underwent in July 2017, was also unsuccessful.

 

[lucy92]

This NYtimes piece was a lot more illuminating. Linda says the affected areas are her abdomen, flanks, back and bra area, inner thighs, and chin.

There is one claim in the lawsuit i'm not sure about... that instead "the target fat cells actually increased in number and size and formed hard, bulging masses under her skin”

Can they really increase in number?

 

[tipi1355]

Very sad for Linda. Unexpectedly dramatic changes to one’s appearance are difficult for any person to navigate, but I imagine even more so for someone whose worth and value was so deeply tied to their appearance.

 

[Starry]

It's so sad to see her going through all these.

And I don't think she looked disfigured judging from that paparazzi photo.

I have a question: when was her last appearance on fashion magazine? I can remember her being in the September 2017 issue of Vogue US (the supermodel ed by Annie Leibovitz) and she looked good. I know there was retouching and other technics to make sure she looked perfect in the ed but this ed must be shot after the surgeries according to the post about the timeline? My guess is early or mid 2017 considering the magazine production time for September issue.

 

[heyjaded]

This NYtimes piece was a lot more illuminating. Linda says the affected areas are her abdomen, flanks, back and bra area, inner thighs, and chin.

There is one claim in the lawsuit i'm not sure about... that instead "the target fat cells actually increased in number and size and formed hard, bulging masses under her skin”

Can they really increase in number?

Yeah, that's why the name "hiperplasia". From my understanding, instead of destroying the fat cells, sometimes the treatment ends up stimulating them, so there's proliferation of the tissue. And the side effect is delayed (like months after the treatment), so that might explain why Linda looked fine in the paparazzi photos. I've also read there's probably much more unreported cases, so she really might have a good chance of winning her case even with them warning about possible side effects.

 

[RAKxoxo]

According to multiple Twitter users that img and bella and gigis agents forced bella to take a break this season so the spotlight will be on her sister’s first season back post baby I wonder if there’s any truth to that

 

[Ivancica]

^ It doesn't seem unlikely.

 

[aracic]

According to multiple Twitter users that img and bella and gigis agents forced bella to take a break this season so the spotlight will be on her sister’s first season back post baby I wonder if there’s any truth to that

What a waste of time considering how lacklustre Gigi's comeback was. I can't recall a single campaign, barely any runway and all the editorial work she did post-baby was utterly dreadful. Meanwhile, Bella's got a stellar Lanvin campaign, a spectacular story in Pop and a September Vogue cover! Give us more.

 

[theBlueRider]

Flame me but I find Bella to be the better model. More interesting with angles and chameleon-like for what they are working with.

 

[khoinguyen666]

What a waste of time considering how lacklustre Gigi's comeback was. I can't recall a single campaign, barely any runway and all the editorial work she did post-baby was utterly dreadful. Meanwhile, Bella's got a stellar Lanvin campaign, a spectacular story in Pop and a September Vogue cover! Give us more.

Gigi's walk was really bad this season too.

it wouldn't surprise me if the IMG rumours were true. Gigi opened and closed more shows than usual

 

[KoV]

I thought the rumor was Bella didn't get vaxxed and as such couldn't participate to the same extent as Gigi, who did. This new rumor could be true, or it could be planted as a means of obfuscating the vaccine-related one. I know just last week she shared a photo of her getting it, but perhaps she did it recently? I don't know. To me it doesn't make sense that she would step back to give Gigi the spotlight. Gigi is more famous and though not as good at modeling as Bella, she certainly doesn't have a hard time garnering attention. And if she was stepping back to let Gigi shine, why was she on the September cover of Vogue, booking major campaigns for the season, etc.?

 

[Serend1pity]

Maybe her agent knows that Bella is the respected better model at this point and given her rise could have even outshined Gigi this season idk

 

[LostInNJ]

According to multiple Twitter users that img and bella and gigis agents forced bella to take a break this season so the spotlight will be on her sister’s first season back post baby I wonder if there’s any truth to that

Again, Twitter users that come to their own conclusions as to why their favorite model isn't walking shows this season.

I saw one of her Vogue videos where they spoke about the pandemic/mental health and she said something about finally learning/being able to say 'no' to things, and that she didn't realize she could do that, or something like that. So, perhaps, the less exciting answer is she just wanted a break?

Maybe we will never know.

I thought the rumor was Bella didn't get vaxxed and as such couldn't participate to the same extent as Gigi, who did. This new rumor could be true, or it could be planted as a means of obfuscating the vaccine-related one. I know just last week she shared a photo of her getting it, but perhaps she did it recently? I don't know. To me it doesn't make sense that she would step back to give Gigi the spotlight. Gigi is more famous and though not as good at modeling as Bella, she certainly doesn't have a hard time garnering attention. And if she was stepping back to let Gigi shine, why was she on the September cover of Vogue, booking major campaigns for the season, etc.?

I thought she posted that as proof that she had been vaccinated well before the gala, and to dispel the rumors that she wasn't vaccinated as the reason for her not attending.

 

[Deleted member 1957]

I've seen Mona Tougaard all over Milan, do they have a different Vax policy than NYFW?