Sophie Dahl recalls the ‘terrifying fetish-themed’ first catwalk show which made her a famous supermodel and her incredible response to jibes about her size 14 figure

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Sophie Dahl recently shared memories of her debut catwalk show, the event that began her successful supermodeling career. She was reflecting on this moment while addressing past criticism about her body size, which was a UK size 14 at the time.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor, the 48-year-old English author and model married to Jamie Cullum, shared an old photo on social media Sunday. The picture, from 1997, shows her at a knitwear show by designer Lainey Keogh in London.

This was Sophie’s first fashion show after Isabella Blow, a former magazine editor and stylist, discovered her – reportedly finding her in tears and smoking outside her home just before her eighteenth birthday.

Sophie turned heads in a revealing sheer dress, with her black underwear visible beneath it, as photographers captured the moment with their flashes.

It was a defining look for that time, after the ‘heroin chic’ era of fashion back in the 90s.

The next day, Sophie was featured in news articles after a photo of her went viral. One headline was particularly critical, jokingly referencing her size 14 figure with the phrase ‘Absolutely Flabulous Dahling!’

Sophie recently shared that she didn’t realize the word ‘fabulous’ included the letter ‘L’, even though a picture with the word on it had been stuck to her fridge by a roommate at the time.

She reposted the photo and explained that she’s always fascinated by the difference between how people appear and how they actually feel. She recalled being incredibly scared at the time, but in the picture, she looks proud, almost intimidating, like a fierce huntress.

The following day, a tabloid newspaper featured a photo of me on its cover with the headline, “Absolutely Fabulous, Darling!” My roommate at the time put it on the refrigerator, and it took me around six months to even realize the headline had a typo – the letter ‘L’ was missing.

‘I just read Fabulous.’

She received an outpouring of support, with messages including one from Daisy Lowe, who called her ‘always and forever a stunning beauty’.

Another follower said: ‘Love this so much. The 90s were a great, great decade. How we danced!’;

I’ll never forget working on that show! You were incredibly kind, well-mannered, and captivating – and honestly, really alluring!

Wow, you looked fantastic! I’d almost forgotten about Lainey – she was wonderful. You’re such a sweet, lovely, and beautiful person, both inside and out, and I’ll always remember this.

I’m a big fan of Sophie, and it’s always exciting to see her! It’s just that she and her husband, Jamie, aren’t often photographed together. As far as I know, the last time they were publicly spotted as a couple was back in 2024 at the launch party for ‘Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop.’

In 2021, Jamie shared with Red magazine the key to his successful ten-year marriage with the supermodel.

He said: ‘Loving her has challenged my perceptions about what it means to live, love and think’.

Jamie also spoke about the importance of ‘growing to meet each other’ in a long-term relationship.

Oh my gosh, listening to him talk about it was just… everything. Apparently, they were both huge bookworms, just like me! And they loved having people over, cooking for their friends. It was so sweet – she still hung out with the same girls she’d known forever, and he had his core group too. It just felt so… real, you know? Like they had these solid, long-lasting connections, and it was just… perfect.

I appreciate her honesty; I’ve always preferred people who are direct. To me, true love means being able to show someone exactly who you are, flaws and all, and still have them love you for it.

The pair now share two daughters, Lyra, 14, and Margot, 12.

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2026-02-23 15:42