Linda Evangelista Closes Fendi Show During NYFW — Her First in 15 Years and Post Fat Freezing Trauma

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Linda Evangelista is back on the runway!

The supermodel, 57, made a rare appearance during New York Fashion Week on Friday, when she closed out Fendi's show and marked her first runway appearance in 15 years.

Taking place at Manhattan's Hammerstein Ballroom, Evangelista stepped out at the end of the show wearing a stunning Tiffany blue taffeta gown, per Footwear News. She accessorized her look with diamond earrings, silver silk gloves and a Fendi Baguette bag.

Evangelista previously revealed that she would be part of the show in an Instagram post back in July. "I am so grateful," she wrote, before thanking a series of team members.

The star's last runway appearance came in 2007, when she participated in the 60th-anniversary fashion show for Christian Dior.

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RELATED: Linda Evangelista Shares First Photos of Her Body Since Fat-Freezing Nightmare: 'I'm Done Hiding'

Evangelista's NYFW appearance took place shortly after she appeared on the cover of British Vogue's September issue, published last month.

In it, the model spoke candidly about what's to come of her career after taking a break for five years due to a CoolSculpting accident that she said left her body "brutally disfigured."

"I miss my work so much, but honestly, what can I do? It isn't going to be easy," she admitted to the outlet, believing that people have forgotten her legacy as one of the '90s most coveted faces.

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From 2015 to 2016, Evangelista participated in seven CoolSculpting fat-freezing sessions that she expected to be a noninvasive alternative to liposuction.

Instead, she said the treatments increased and expanded her fat cells. The result was a diagnosis of paradoxical adipose hyperplasia (PAH), a rare side effect that affects less than 1 percent of CoolSculpting patients.

In 2021, she went public with an update on Instagram, revealing that she was also filing a lawsuit against Zeltiq Aesthetics — the parent company of CoolSculpting.

RELATED VIDEO: Linda Evangelista Appears in First Fashion Campaign Since Fat-Freezing Nightmare: 'So Grateful'

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE in February, Evangelista explained for the first time why she waited so long to reveal that she's been suffering from the rare CoolSculpting side effect.

"I should not be a burden to my child," she told PEOPLE of keeping her condition from those closest to her, including her son, Augie. "He shouldn't have to be supporting me. That's not his job."

Instead, she said that she suffered privately in near seclusion. "No one sees me," the fashion icon explained, adding that for a long time she would only leave her New York City home for school events with Augie (whose father is Francois-Henri Pinault) or to walk her dog.

"[Augie] used to say, 'Mommy, do you remember when you used to be fun?' " Evangelista said. "'Remember when you used to laugh all the time? How come you don't laugh anymore?' "

She added: "I hate what this has done to my relationship with him."