After a painful cosmetic procedure that left me with severe scarring, I felt like it was all over again. Linda EvangelistaShe was going to disappear from the public eye. Photographs became few and far between, leaving fans to remember the supermodel as she was in the ’90s at the height of her fame. But after going public with her story, Evangelista has made it clear that she’s not hiding anymore.
Linda Evangelista Ready To ‘Finally Speak’
She was one of the first supermodels—a group of women that dominated the fashion industry like never before throughout the late ’80s and early ’90s. Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington were two of her peers. They were both well-known and recognizable for many decades. Linda Evangelista lost her modeling career after she experienced an adverse reaction to a cosmetic procedure that was non-invasive.
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“I loved being up on the catwalk. Now I dread running into someone I know,” Evangelista told People This was earlier in the year. “I can’t live like this anymore, in hiding and shame. I just couldn’t live in this pain any longer. I’m willing to finally speak.”
In 2015, Evangelista started CoolSculpting sessions—a popular, FDA-approved “fat freezing”Alternatives to liposuction. After her first few visits, the model began to notice that the areas that she tried to shrink with these procedures were actually growing. According to Evangelista, the procedures didn’t reduce her fat—it only increased and hardened it.
‘I Thought I Was Losing My Mind’
Evangelista took responsibility for her own behavior after the change. She thought her diet or her fitness level were the culprits. She began to eat less and exercise more. She went to the doctor in June 2016, ten months after receiving her first treatment. “I dropped my robe for him,”She remembers. “I was bawling, and I said, ‘I haven’t eaten, I’m starving. What am I doing wrong?””
That’s when she was diagnosed with Paradoxical Adipose Hyperplasia (PAH)—a rare side effect that appears in less than 1 percent of CoolSculpting patients. The PAH is the time when the “fat freezing”This causes tissue to expand and thicken.
After contacting CoolSculpting with the upsetting news, Evangelista says they offered to pay for liposuction to remove the affected areas—on one condition. According to reports, the model had to sign a confidentiality contract in order to be allowed to talk about her experience. Evangelista claims she declined and paid for two full-body liposuctions herself. The PAH returned despite all the precautions taken.
Covering Mirrors to The Cover Of Vogue
It’s been a long journey since then. According to Evangelista she was haunted after what should have been a straightforward, trusted fat-removal process. She sued CoolSculpting’s parent company for $50 million. She’s since settled the case and insists she’s ready to “put this matter behind” her. She published her story in the pages Vogue Britain.
Evangelista once more graces the cover of September’s issue Vogue. Supermodel Evangelista is now back doing what she enjoys, and in head-to toe couture. The images are a stunning display of Evangelista’s miraculous recovery. However, Evangelista reveals that the real magic lies in her wardrobe and makeup.
“That’s not my jaw and neck in real life—and I can’t walk around with tape and elastics everywhere,”She spoke about the photos that made it into print. “You know what, I’m trying to love myself as I am, but for the photos… I always think we’re here to create fantasies. We’re creating dreams. I think it’s allowed. Also, all my insecurities are taken care of in these pictures, so I got to do what I love to do.”
Evangelista has made a great turn this year. After years of hiding, her striking features were finally exposed to the world by the Fendi campaign.
It’s clear Evangelista isn’t done with fashion—and fashion certainly isn’t done with her.