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Gigi Hadid on body preferences in the modelling industry - ‘I was told I didn't have a runway body’

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Gigi Hadid at the WSJ Mag 2019 Innovator Awards. Photographed by Mark Sagliocco
Gigi Hadid at the WSJ Mag 2019 Innovator Awards. Photographed by Mark Sagliocco
Mark Sagliocco

Gigi Hadid had her catwalk debut in 2015 after Jean Paul Gaultier chose her despite other brands claiming that her body was too muscular for catwalk shows.

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“He was the first designer that let me walk on a runway in Paris, it was his last ready to-wear show. At the time I was still starting out in my career, I was coming out of high school, I still had my volleyball body," she said speaking to i-D magazine.

"It was a body I loved. I knew how hard I worked to get those muscles, to be curved in those places – I kind of miss it now. At the time people were hard on me and tried to say I didn’t have a runway body.” 

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Now Gigi has mentors and people who helped her become one of the most in-demand names in the fashion industry.

“Obviously, the first person was my mom but as I’ve gotten older in my career, I’d say Carine Rothfield and Stephen Gan. Then there’s my manager Luiz [Mattos]. Tommy Hilfiger giving me four seasons of a collection was insane,” she conclued.

Compiled by Futhi Masilela

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