She’s back! Christie Brinkley walks first runway in seven years
She’s one of the most recognisable women in America, gracing the covers of hundreds of magazines over a legendary career that’s spanned more than five decades.
But for Christie Brinkley, runways are few and far between.
What a surprise! Instagram/ChristieBrinkley
The supermodel hasn’t walked one in seven years.
That all changed at New York Fashion Week when Brinkley, 72, emerged to an applauding crowd at the Dennis Basso show wearing a gold off-the-shoulder gown and a megawatt smile.
Brinkley celebrated the moment with her fans, sharing a clip of her parading down the catwalk on Instagram, and thanking the designer who invited her onto his stage.
“One more to say thank you to [Dennis Basso] for giving this honour to a 72 1/2 year seasoned woman. We still don’t see enough of us represented,” she wrote alongside the video.
In an interview with People magazine, the model and actress described her seventh decade of life as “amazing”.
“When I actually say the number, it seems very foreign to me because, I don’t know, I don’t feel like that, and I want to let other women know not to fear [ageing] because it’s not what you think,” she told the publication.
“I’m having a great time.”
The last time Brinkley commanded a runway was at New York Fashion Week back in 2019 and alongside her now-28-year-old daughter Sailor, who is also a model.
The supermodel catapulted to fame back in the early ’70s when she was just 19.
Christie Brinkley with the late French photographer Patrick Demarchelier, one of the first photographers she ever met on a model shoot. Instagram/Christie Brinkley
She was walking to a post office to phone a vet about her sick dog when a photographer asked to take her photo, handing her a piece of paper with his name and address on it.
Within weeks of that fateful meeting with American photographer Errol Sawyer, Brinkley, who at the time had big dreams of a becoming an artist and settling in Paris, was shaking hands with Patrick Demarchelier and Mike Reinhardt.
She blinked and became a global sensation.
She’s fronted more than 500 magazine covers in her legendary career Conde Nast via Getty Images
It’s been five decades since Brinkley popped that piece of paper in her pocket and, despite being an unshakeable force in the industry, she still considers herself lucky.
“I had the best time, from the first fitting where I got to see you drape and sculpt the fabric into the gorgeous gown I was so lucky to wear to close your magnificent show,” she said in a public tribute to Basso.
“You are such a light and fabulous ball of good energy. The whole project was a joy to be a part of!”
