Last Updated on February 27, 2020 by Kristen
Yolanda Hadid gave birth to both the opening model (Bella Hadid) and the closing one (Gigi Hadid) in Virgil Abloh’s Off-White fall/winter 2020 fashion show. So it seems only right she should walk in it herself.
Long before she became a Real Housewife, Hadid preceded her model daughters on the catwalk. She was signed to Ford Models in the ’80s, and built her modeling career for 15 years before starting a family.
Still, it’s remarkable and refreshing to see a 56-year-old woman walking in a Paris runway show—even more so considering Hadid’s battle with Lyme disease. In 2015, she revealed in a blog post that due to the disease she had “lost the ability to read, write, or even watch TV.” She published the book “Believe Me: My Battle with the Invisible Disability of Lyme Disease,” in 2017. Since then she has been in and out of remission.
Nevertheless, she walked her walk with the confidence of the seasoned model she is, wearing a white jacket with a graffiti-like print, sleek black pants, a black-lacquered chunky chain choker, oversized metallic number-7-shaped earrings, and the slim style of sunglasses made famous by her daughter. Hadid Sr.’s black sandals featured upturned soles, and she clutched a large calfskin sack.
Check her out in the video above—get your first glimpse at 48:05 and keep watching for more of her walk. Here’s hoping she opens (or closes!) her next show.