Linda Evangelista has face taped back for British Vogue cover following

Linda Evangelista has admitted she was ‘so depressed’ that she ‘hated herself’ following her CoolSculpting procedure that left her feeling ‘deformed’.

The model, 57, has graced the cover of the September issue of British Vogue where she admitted the faulty procedure caused her to lose her livelihood and left her with things ‘protruding from me’.

The catwalk star – who posed for a new Fendi campaign last month – was keen to make clear that make-up artist Pat McGrath gently drew her face, jaw and neck back with tape and elastics for the photoshoot. 

Candid: Linda Evangelista has admitted she was ‘so depressed’ that she ‘hated herself’ following her CoolSculpting procedure that left her feeling ‘deformed’ as she marked her return to modelling by gracing the cover of British Vogue’s September issue

Photoshoot: The catwalk star was keen to make clear that for make-up artist Pat McGrath gently drew her face, jaw and neck back with tape and elastics for the photoshoot

Candid: The model enlisted the help of tape to hold her neck and jaw in place for the magazine shoot (left) , after a rare reaction to the fat-reduction procedure left her with permanent damage (pictured right in June 2022)

She said: ‘That’s not my jaw and neck in real life – and I can’t walk around with tape and elastics everywhere. You know what, I’m trying to love myself as I am, but for the photos. 

‘Look, for photos I always think we’re here to create fantasies. We’re creating dreams. I think it’s allowed. Also, all my insecurities are taken care of in these pictures, so I got to do what I love to do.’

Linda was hesistant to call this her ‘comeback’ as she noted she is almost entirely covered in the photoshoot, where she is sporting a scarf around her neck. 

In September last year, Linda took to her Instagram to announce that she had filed a lawsuit – since settled – in New York against Zeltiq Aesthetics for grievous injuries.

Return: Linda was hesistant to call this her ‘comeback’ as she noted she is almost entirely covered in the photoshoot,but did state that she is learning to ‘love herself’

She said: ‘If I had known side effects may include losing your livelihood and you’ll end up so depressed that you hate yourself…I wouldn’t have taken that risk.’

Speaking about how she is now, Linda said: ‘Am I cured mentally? Absolutely not. But I’m so grateful for the support I got from my friends and from my industry…You’re not going to see me in a swimsuit, that’s for sure. 

‘It’s going to be difficult to find jobs with things protruding from me; without retouching, or squeezing into things, or taping things or compressing or tricking…’

Linda said she decided to have the CoolSculpting procedure done afer seeing frequent advertisements for it on TV.

She said: ‘Those CoolSculpting commercials were on all the time, on CNN, on MSNBC, over and over, and they would ask, “Do you like what you see in the mirror?”

‘They were speaking to me. It was about stubborn fat in areas that wouldn’t budge. It said no downtime, no surgery and…I drank the magic potion, and I would because I’m a little vain. So I went for it – and it backfired.’ 

One of the most famous supermodels in the world, Linda racked up over 60 magazine covers during her hugely successful career. 

Looking back on her hectic schedule, she explained: ‘How did I keep going? This is the truth: I was young. You could go out and eat salty fried food and drink Champagne, sleep at 3am and be up again at 5am. 

‘Drugs were offered to me, but I never touched them, I’m not saying I was an angel…but I was terrified of drugs.’

Linda had some negative experiences in her early years in the industry, including one incident in Japan where a modelling agency asked her to take all her clothes off.

She said: ‘I went to the agency and it was all, “take your clothes off, we need your measurements”, but they already had my measurements. 

‘They wanted me naked and it wasn’t a “would you do nudes” conversation, it was a “you will do nudes”. 

Success: Linda (bottom row, centre) was last on the cover of Vogue Italia in 2014 alongside some of her fellow supermodels

‘I left and called my mother and she said, ‘Get out now and get to the embassy.’ So that’s what I did, and they got me home.’

In July, Linda settled her $50million CoolSculpting lawsuit after claiming a rare reaction to a fatreduction procedure six years ago left her ‘deformed’.

The supermodel said she is ‘happy’ to put the case behind her and is looking forward to ‘a new chapter’ in her life, thanking her friends and family for their support.

In her suit, the runway icon had sought $50million in damages, alleging that she had been left ‘brutally disfigured’ by Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc’s CoolSculpting procedure, which she claimed ‘did the opposite of what it promised.

CoolSculpting – the brand name for cryolipolysis, which uses cold temperatures to reduce fat deposits – is also known as body contouring, and has…