Linda Evangelista Returns To Runway For First Time Since She Was 'Disfigured'

Supermodel Linda Evangelista is making her runway comeback after spending years away from the spotlight due to a cosmetic procedure gone awry. 

The 57-year-old appeared at Fendi’s New York Fashion Week show on Friday night in a voluminous aquamarine gown and coat, marking her first catwalk appearance in 15 years. 

Evangelista revealed in an Instagram post a year ago that she had become a recluse because she was “brutally disfigured” by a noninvasive fat-freezing treatment called CoolSculpting.

She said she was “done hiding” and has since appeared in photoshoots for Fendi and British Vogue wearing hats, turtlenecks and scarves. 

In her interview with Vogue, Evangelista said tapes and elastics were used to modify her appearance in that shoot.

“That’s not my jaw and neck in real life,” she said, adding that she was “trying to love myself as I am.”

On Friday, she strutted the runway sans face covering. She received a standing ovation as she took a final bow alongside Marc Jacobs, Kim Jones, Delfina Delettrez and Silvia Venturini Fendi.

Evangelista said in July she had settled her lawsuit with CoolSculpting, which is owned by parent company Allergan. She sued in September for $50 million in damages, alleging she was unable to work after her reaction to the procedure. 

The Canadian model was diagnosed in June 2016 with paradoxical adipose hyperplasia, a rare condition that is shown to occur in less than 1% of CoolSculpting patients. The condition enlarges rather than shrinks the areas targeted by the fat-freezing method.

Evangelista said she developed large, painful bumps on her body, including under her arms and on her legs.