Latest News

Gigi Hadid Was Told She Didn’t Have A “Runway Body” At The Beginning Of Her Career

The model was proud of her athletic physique
Loading the player...

Fashion Week wouldn’t be complete without Gigi Hadid but the model has not always been widely coveted by brands far and wide, as she was often told she didn’t have “a runway body”.

WATCH BELOW: Bella, Gigi, Kaia, Imaan, Adut And Tyra Just Formed The Ultimate Girl Band

In a new interview with i-D magazine, the 24-year-old spoke candidly about the beginnings of her high-flying career – thanking Jean Paul Gaultier for giving Hadid her first big break.
“He was the first designer that let me walk on a runway in Paris, it was in his last ready-to-wear show,” the US model said, reflecting on her debut Paris Fashion Week appearance back in 2015.
“At the time, I was still starting out in my career, I was coming out of high school, I still had my volleyball body.”
gigi hadid jean paul gaultier
Gigi Hadid at the Jean Paul Gaultier show on September 27, 2014

Hadid then went on to admit that she “loved” her athletic physique at the time and although walking the show helped to boost her profile, she was only ever given looks that “covered up” her body in fashion gigs that followed.

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

gigi hadid
Gigi Hadid walks the Marc Jacobs autumn/winter 2020 show on February 12, 2020

Back in December 2016, Hadid revealed that her body “changed like crazy” after suffering from a Hashimoto’s disease – a debilitating condition which leads to fatigue, increased sensitivity to cold, depression and muscle weakness.

“My metabolism actually changed like crazy this year,” she said at the time.

But Hadid doesn’t see the runway in her future forever, as the model hopes to settle down and start a family one day.

gigi hadid zayn malik
The couple out and about in January, 2020
“I think that as I get older… well one day I’ll start a family and I don’t know if I will always be modelling,” Hadid teased.
“I love the creative side of fashion, it’s so fulfilling. The people I work with make me so happy, I’m so lucky to be around them. But who knows? Maybe I’ll take up full-time cooking!”   
Hadid recently rekindled her romance with ex-boyfriend Zayn Malik. 

The A-list couple first called it quits back in March 2018 by posting break-up statements on Twitter.

“Gigi and I had an incredibly meaningful, loving and fun relationship, and I have a huge amount of respect and adoration for Gigi as a woman and a friend,” Malik wrote.

“She has such an incredible soul. I’m grateful to all of our fans for respecting this difficult decision and our privacy at the time, we wish this news could have come from us first. We love you all.”

So fans (read: us) were pleased to see the duo reunited once more in January 2020.

Confirming their romance, Hadid shared a photograph of the British singer on Valentine’s Day via the model’s second Instagram account – a starry page dedicated to her disposable photographs.

Fashion Week wouldn’t be complete without Gigi Hadid but the model has not always been widely coveted by brands far and wide, as she was often told she didn’t have “a runway body”.

WATCH BELOW: Bella, Gigi, Kaia, Imaan, Adut And Tyra Just Formed The Ultimate Girl Band

Fashion Week wouldn’t be complete without Gigi Hadid but the model has not always been widely coveted by brands far and wide, as she was often told she didn’t have “a runway body”.

WATCH BELOW: Bella, Gigi, Kaia, Imaan, Adut And Tyra Just Formed The Ultimate Girl Band

Related stories