'Grateful' Linda Evangelista returns to modeling after failed cosmetic procedure

Welcome back to modeling, Linda Evangelista.

For the first time since opening up about the adverse effects of a cosmetic procedure, the former runway star has partnered with a luxury apparel brand for a new campaign. Over the weekend, Evangelista proudly shared an image from her collaboration with the Fendi fashion empire, which tapped her for the 25th anniversary celebration of its baguette handbag, designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi.

In the photo, Evangelista can be seen carrying multiple baguette purses of varying sizes while wearing cat-eye sunglasses, a gray turtleneck sweater and a tower of pink baseball caps stacked on top of her head.

"On September 9 2022 @Fendi will host a special fashion show in New York City to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the #FendiBaguette ... and two years since [Kim Jones] joined the Maison as Artistic Director of Couture and Womenswear," Evangelista and Fendi's Instagram announcements read.

In her own words, Evangelista added that she is "so grateful to" Jones and Venturini Fendi, as well as the glam and creative teams behind the photo shoot. Her comeback portrait was photographed by Steven Meisel.

Evangelista's latest Instagram update comes several months after she spoke with People magazine about her nightmarish experience with CoolSculpting — a non-invasive procedure from Zeltiq Aesthetics, a subsidiary of Allergan, approved by the FDA to reduce visible bulges under the chin and jaw and on the thighs, abdomen, flanks and back.

In September 2021, Evangelista claimed via Instagram that her body had been "brutally disfigured" by the CoolSculpting procedure, which "did the opposite of what it promised." The '90s style icon went so far as to file a lawsuit against Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc., which she has accused of increasing, not decreasing, her fat cells and leaving her "permanently deformed" to the point of appearing "unrecognizable."

As a result of developing paradoxical adipose hyperplasia — a rare side effect of fat freezing she says she was never informed about — Evangelista said that she has suffered physically, emotionally and professionally. The condition, she added, has caused her to become a recluse living with social anxiety and agoraphobia.

“I loved being up on the catwalk. Now I dread running into someone I know,” the 57-year-old told People in February. “I can’t live like this anymore, in hiding and shame.”

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.