Model Linda Evangelista first appeared on the cover of Vogue after she said she was “deformed” by a plastic surgery gone wrong.
In the photos, duct tape and elastic bands were used to pull back her face, jaw and neck, hiding the problems caused when the fat-freezing treatment “backfired.
She said, “This is not my chin and neck in real life – I can’t walk around with duct tape and elastic bands.”
She told the magazine she “tries to love myself as much as I do.
“But for the pictures,” she added. “Look, for the photos, I always thought we were here to create fantasies. We’re creating dreams. I think that’s allowed. And, all of my insecurities are taken care of in these photos, so I have to do what I love to do.”
The Canadian supermodel, one of the most famous faces on the runways and magazine covers of the 1990s and 2000s, says she has been out of the spotlight for nearly a year because she was “brutally disfigured” by nonsurgical fat reduction surgery.
She says the CoolSculpting treatment – a brand name for cryolipolysis, which uses low temperatures to reduce fat deposits – went wrong when a rare side effect increased rather than reduced fat cells.
Now, she tells British Vogue, “If I knew the side effects could include losing your livelihood, you end up getting so depressed that you hate yourself …… I wouldn’t take the risk.”
All the photos in the magazine show only her front, with her neck, ears and hair covered.
She says she was drawn to its ads and her own vanity.
“Those CoolSculpting ads kept running on CNN, MSNBC, over and over again, and they would ask, ‘Do you like what you see in the mirror? They’re talking to me.
“It’s about stubborn fat in areas that won’t budge. It says there’s no downtime, no surgery …… I drank the magic potion, and I would because I was a little vain. So I went for it – it backfired.”
She sued Zeltiq Aesthetics, the company behind the treatment, and in July said the lawsuit had been settled.
In a statement to Vogue, Zeltiq said, “We are pleased to have resolved this issue with Ms. Evangelista. Our focus remains on increasing confidence by providing safe, reliable aesthetic products and services backed by science. coolSculpting is an FDA-approved, non-invasive treatment for visible fat bulges in nine areas of the body.”
‘I knew my worth’
Elsewhere in the Vogue interview, Evangelista recalls her early modeling career and her rise to fame in the 1980s.
When asked if she realized how beautiful she was and if boys wanted to date her, she replied, “No! I have a lot of friends, but no. You know what that is? I’m tall, and people used to tell my mom, ‘Oh, she’s tall. She should be a model.” That, and I’m obsessed with fashion.”
She also discusses campaigning for higher pay for models. “I can afford to stick it out,” she explains.
“That’s what it’s all about. But I’m also thinking about different industries. Athletes don’t get paid the same – some get paid more because of what they bring to the game. It’s not a matter of thinking I’m better …… but I know what I’m worth.”