‘They said my body wasn’t for the catwalk’. Gigi Hadid – on bullying at the beginning of her career

Today, Gigi Hadid is one of the most sought-after models in the world, who is handpicked by all designers for their shows. Her face constantly appears on the covers of fashion magazines. The girl is also popular among the younger generation: more than 53 million people are subscribed to her Instagram.

Hadid has become an example for many. She is not only engaged in the main work, but also openly talks about health-related problems. She has Hashimoto’s disease – an autoimmune thyroid disease that can cause depression, fatigue and weight gain. The girl also advocates for Muslim rights, as her father is Palestinian. In addition, Gigi defends women’s freedoms and helps children together with the international organization Unicef. The model and activist is loved not only in the fashion world, but also outside it, admiring her kindness and responsiveness.

“People were cruel and said my body wasn’t fit for the catwalk,” she says

There are also those who criticize Gigi. At the beginning of her career, it was designers who thought she was too shapely and didn’t fit the modeling standards. Her rounded buttocks and hips, lush breasts at fashion shows were not needed.

In addition, as a teenager, the girl seriously engaged in volleyball, so her body was quite taut and relief. Hadid was the captain of the team and wanted to link her future life not with walking down the runway and photo shoots, but with professional sports. But the real path to fame, according to the model’s confession, she was paved by French fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier, who was not afraid to demonstrate her attractive figure.

“Gaultier was the first designer who put me on the catwalk in Paris. At the time I was still at the beginning of my career, just out of high school, I had the body of a volleyball player. A body that I loved. All those muscles and curves, it cost me a lot of work. I miss them now. But at the time, people were cruel to me, they said my body wasn’t fit for the catwalk.

And Jean-Paul not only let me on the runway in 2015, but also put me in an outfit that didn’t cover much. Other designers had me in their shows, but they wrapped me up head to toe. Jean-Paul wanted me to shine on the runway, which meant a lot to me as a young model,” Hadid told i-D Magazine in a recent interview.

“I used to like Gigi’s body, but she’s not the same now.”

This isn’t the first time Hadid has mentioned the unfair treatment. Having already become famous, she still received derogatory comments on Instagram about her weight and appearance. Only if at the beginning of her career it was hinted that she was not thin enough, now the stream of hatred pours in because of excessive thinness.

“Almost everything bad that people write to me on the internet is just nonsense, but it can still hurt. A lot of people are now saying, ‘I used to like Gigi’s body, but she’s not the same now.’ But I’m so skinny not because I made concessions to the industry. I was proud of my body when I had a more athletic figure. Back then, I was great at volleyball and horseback riding. But when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, I had to switch to eating healthy, working out. When I was a teenager, it was very unusual, because all my friends could eat at McDonald’s without any consequences.

If I could choose, I’d like to get back the butt and breasts I had a couple years ago. But there’s no point in remembering the past and having regrets. I loved my body then and I love my new body too. I realize that my body will grow and change, but whatever they are, it will still be beautiful,” Gigi told Harper’s Bazzar magazine in 2018.

Gigi steadfastly endured adversity at the beginning of her career and was rewarded with a meeting with a designer who liked her figure. The girl takes the bullying calmly and now, rightly pointing out that if you are insulted, it is not because there is something wrong with you. On the contrary, something is wrong with those who do it.

New changes: Gigi Hadid has opened up about her pregnancy

Gigi’s body is about to change abruptly again in the coming months, as she recently opened up about her pregnancy. “I’m getting older, I want to have a family one day and I don’t know if I’ll always be modeling. I love the creative side of fashion, it’s fulfilling. I get to work with people who make me happy. But who knows, maybe one day I’ll be a full-time housewife!”, – says Hadid.

Well, even if Gigi ends her modeling career, she is definitely not lost. Her creative nature constantly gives out a mountain of different ideas, whether it’s her own clothing lines, or wedding design, or something else. She is a girl of punchy and is able to realize herself not only in the modeling business.