She was the hottest model in the world and he was – depending on your tolerance for ruffles and wallpaper prints – the hottest designer in the business. But even at her most prolific, Bella Hadid never walked for Alessandro Michele ’s Gucci . She was too glamorous, too conventionally beautiful to believably be a part of his oddball cabal beloved for their wide-set eyes and glam-rock haircuts.
But that might soon change. Hadid was yesterday afternoon photographed leaving a Valentino showroom in Paris ahead of Michele’s debut catwalk for the Roman house. She wore an outsized Saint Laurent trench coat over an archetypal model-on-a-go-see outfit: a form-fitting T-shirt, Alo Yoga leggings, Miu Miu biker boots and a Saint Laurent handbag spacious enough for heels, make-up wipes and whatever else comprises a working model’s arsenal.
Would this spell her own comeback? Last August, the model said “I’ll be back when I’m ready,” while announcing that she had returned to a place of good health after receiving 100 days of treatment for a serious Lyme disease flare-up. “I miss you all so much. I love you all so much.
” And while she has returned to the public forum – launching a perfume brand and participating in several spit-and-sawdust rodeos – Hadid has not yet made an appearance at fashion week. A Michele-sized spectacle would provide an appropriate stage for this model’s homecoming, but Saint Laurent or even Miu Miu would surely be a more obvious host..
