After living as a recluse after an aesthetic medicine procedure that “deformed her face and body for life,” the supermodel is reuniting with the fashion world. In the UK edition fashionLinda Evangelista talks about the trials she went through to get her figure back.
Linda Evangelista is ready to return to the modeling scene, but still struggles to feel good about herself. The iconic supermodel for five years 90’s Because of the CoolSculpting procedure (or cryolipolysis in aesthetic medicine, a technique consisting of destroying fat with cold) that would make her “unrecognizable”. After posing for Fendi’s latest ad campaign last month, the supermodel confirms her professional resurgence by appearing on the cover of the magazine’s UK edition. fashion In September 2022.
Linda Evangelista is thus revealed in close-up, her face surrounded by a red scarf and a tall hat of the same color. Far from skimpy clothing that actually hides the physical changes caused by these aesthetic medicine interventions. “It’s not my jaw and neck in real life,” she confided in an interview with this photo shoot, signed by Steven Meisel. The article does reveal that makeup artist Pat McGrath “delicately contoured her face, jawline and neck with masking tape and rubber bands.”
Irreversible side effects
Determined not to hide any longer, the 57-year-old came out of silence in September 2021, revealing her story in broad daylight on her Instagram page. “I could no longer live in this pain,” he says in an interview fashionI knew I had to change things, and the only change was telling my truth.”
If I had known that the side effects could include losing your livelihood and being so depressed that you would hate yourself…I wouldn’t have taken the risk.
Linda Evangelista in the British edition of Vogue magazine
Linda Evangelista took advantage of this new media window to return to the reasons that led her to this practice of cryolipolysis; Mirror?” It spoke to me. It was about fat in certain areas and not going away. It said there was no downtime, no surgery, and…I drank the “magic potion.” I did it because a bit vain,” he admits. “So I went and it backfired. (…) If I had known the side effects could include losing your livelihood and being depressed to the point of hate… I wouldn’t have taken this risk. Apply,” he continues.
The model claims the procedure would have “enlarged rather than reduced fat cells”, which would have made her “unrecognizable”. Within three months of treatment, areas of her face and body reportedly began to “get bigger and tighter” as excess skin shed. In June 2016, her doctor diagnosed her with paradoxical sebaceous hyperplasia, a rare postoperative complication that she says she was not aware of.
“I was losing my mind”
A 50-year-old man tried to correct these unwanted effects by trying liposuction twice. In vain. “I have cuts all over my body. I had stitches, I wore a compression garment under my chin, my body was fixed with a tight belt for eight weeks, nothing helped,” he recalls.
I thought the only way to fix it was “zero calories” so I just drank water. Or sometimes I would take a stick of celery or an apple. I was losing my mind.
Linda Evangelista in the British edition of Vogue magazine
In desperation, he radically decides to give up eating. “I was so embarrassed, I’d just spent all that money and I thought the only way to fix it was ‘zero calories’ so I just drank the water. Or sometimes I would take a stick of celery or an apple. I was losing my mind.”
After filing a lawsuit against Zeltiq Aesthetics (CoolSculpting’s parent company) last year for “serious injuries,” Linda Evangelista says the dispute has finally been settled in court. “I am delighted to have settled the CoolSculpting case. I’m looking forward to the next chapter of my life with my friends and family and I’m happy to put this issue behind me,” she shared on her social media last July.
Implications for mental health
However, Linda Evangelista is undeniably scarred from this story and is still struggling to regain her self-esteem. The Canadian admits that she still can’t look at herself in the mirror or have someone touch her body. “Am I mentally cured?” Absolutely not, she admits, I try to love myself the way I am, but for photos I always think we are there to create fantasies. We create dreams. I think it’s allowed.”
If the recent collaboration with Fendi and this photo shoot fashion officially marking her camera-shy return, the model prefers to remain tight-lipped about her professional future. “You won’t see me in a swimsuit, that’s for sure. It will be difficult to find a job with things above me. without retouching, or stretching, gluing, pressing or cheating…” she admits to the English magazine, emphasizing the fact that she is almost completely covered in these photos. “I miss my job so much, but honestly, what should I do? It won’t be easy,” he concludes.
Source: Le Figaro
