Lourdes Leon, 25, is a bonafide runway superstar. The oldest daughter of Madonna, 63, turned heads at Paris Fashion Week as she strutted down the runway in a skintight catsuit by Marine Serre on Saturday, June 25. The ensemble featured the brands signature moon print in white against black fabric for a dramatic contrast, along with a built in shoe and gloves. Lourdes was styled with plenty of gold chains reminiscent of the 1980s, along with a bold belt and plenty of stacked bracelets.
Lourdes made her modeling debut at just 19-years-old in 2016 campaign for Stella McCartney‘s Pop fragrance. She appeared on her first runway two years later at New York Fashion Week’s Gypsy Sport show, when she was 21. While influencer has continued her path in fashion — even co-creating the Material Girl clothing line with her mom as a teen in 2010 — she has also been vocal about wanting to advocate for change in the fashion industry.
“I want to create a world in which models have more agency over what they’re doing, and they’re not just silent clothing racks,” she said to her mom’s best friend Debi Mazar in a 2021 conversation for Interview magazine. “That’s the age that we’re coming into in the fashion world: models as personalities and artists,” she added.
Beyond appearing in traditional runway shows, Lourdes has also pushed the envelope in more experiential shows — including a controversial one for the 2019 Miami Art Basel. Alongside 30 other models, the then 23-year-old simulated an orgy for brand Desigual, which hails from Spain. She has also starred in Rihanna‘s groundbreaking Savage X Fenty Vol. 3 fashion show on Amazon, slaying a solo in a green lingerie set.
While discussing her career with Debi, Lourdes shared the advice her mom has given her about stepping into the fashion space. “She’s very much like, ‘Proceed with caution and think about what you want to be known for.’ I’ve thought a lot about that recently, because as a ‘model,’ you’re basically relying on your looks,” she shared. “It can feel very overwhelming, and can potentially cause a lot of insecurity. Obviously, you’re not going to look the same your whole life. My mom is very insistent on making me think about what I want to be known for beyond my looks. That’s not what I want people to remember me by. It’s not real.”