Linda Evangelista's Best Runway Moments

At the early age of 19, Linda Evangelista began an international modeling career that would soon elevate her as one of fashion’s most iconic faces, among the ranks of Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss. After moving to Paris, the young model inaugurated her editorial career on the cover of the November 1984 issue of L’OFFICIEL. After her print magazine success, she moved onto the runway.

By the late-‘80s, she was considered a muse to both Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld as well as Gianni Versace. Of the model, Lagerfeld once said, “There is not another model in the world as professional as she is.” With the fanfare surrounding her unique look and easy grace—on and off the catwalk— Evangelista became a runway staple for many of the major brands. By the early ‘90s, Evangelista and Campbell were known alongside Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, and Tatjana Patitz as fashion’s first “supermodels.” As the frenzy around the group continued to build, she quite famously told Vogue in 1990, “We don't wake up for less than $10,000 a day.”

During her early years, she became acquainted with photographer Steven Meisel. Their friendship also evolved into a creator-muse dynamic with Miesel featuring Evangelista at the center of many of his campaigns. Like many of her fellow ‘90s supermodels, she also forged a bond with photographer Peter Lindbergh who actually encouraged her to cut her hair shockingly short in the fall of 1988. While the fashion industry’s initial reaction was dismay at her new style (she was dropped from several fashion shows that season), by early 1989, “The Linda” was one of the trendiest hairstyles on the scene. She later dyed the cut an icy blonde and then a bright red. This earned her the title of a fashion “chameleon,” a rarity in the industry as models are generally discouraged from changing their appearance to give designers a blank canvas on which to style their clothes. Her boyish cut and striking features are considered a shining example of the intersection between fashion and androgyny.

Evangelista retired in 1998 but returned to fashion in 2001 before ending her runway career with Dior's 60th-anniversary show in 2008. However, the past year has sparked a resurgence for Evangelista. In September 2021, she revealed that she was forced to stop modeling after a CoolSculpting procedure left her "disfigured" and "unrecognizable." However, on the heels of settling her lawsuit with CoolSculpting's parent company Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc., the supermodel is reclaiming the fashion industry as the new face of Fendi Baguette bag's 25th-anniversary campaign.

While Evangelista has yet to reappear on the runway, she is still widely regarded as one of the most formidable models of all time. To celebrate her return, L'OFFICIEL looks back at some of Evangelista's best runway moments throughout her career.