DUBAI: French Algerian breakout model Loli Bahia walked for Parisian fashion label Schiaparelli at its Paris Haute Couture Week show.
“Absolutely magnifique Schiaparelli, thank you so much,” the 19-year-old model posted on social media, also tagging creative director Daniel Roseberry.
The show created some controversy online for reasons not involving Bahia. Three looks — modeled by Naomi Campbell, Irina Shayk, and Shalom Harlow — featured the heads of a faux-taxidermy wolf, snow leopard, and lion, respectively. Kylie Jenner, who was seated on the front row, also wore a dress featuring a faux-lion head.
The looks, unsurprisingly, created a stir on the internet. While some praised Roseberry’s ingeniousness, others bemoaned the glorification of dead animals in an industry where the use of fur is already a controversial topic.
However, animal rights group PETA issued a statement in support of the looks.
Ingrid Newkirk, president of the animal-rights group, told TMZ on Monday that Jenner’s look “celebrates lions’ beauty and may be a statement against trophy hunting, in which lion families are torn apart to satisfy human egotism.”
She continued: “These fabulously innovative three-dimensional animal heads show that where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Meanwhile, Bahia also had a stellar Paris Haute Couture Week last year — where she walked for the likes of Fendi, Alaia, and Valentino.