Iman attends the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s 17th Annual An Enduring Vision Benefit at Cipriani 42nd Street on November 5, 2018 in New York City. Getty
Iman Abdulmajid was a sight to behold at the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s 17th Annual An Enduring Vision Benefit in New York City on Monday night. Ensuring all eyes were on her, she practically demanded a double take as she stepped on the red carpet wearing a vibrant pink gown and a matching jacket custom-created by American designer Zac Posen. The model-turned-entrepreneur elevated the ensemble in a way that only she could pull off: With Old Hollywood-style finger waves, black smoked-out eyes, and layers of stacked bangles.
“Honored to have attended and supported the Elton John AIDS Foundation Fall Gala @ejfdn last night in custom @zacposen gown honoring Patricia Hearst, Joe McMillan & Darren Walker,” wrote the Somali beauty on Instagram. Iman and Posen have a long and endearing friendship — last year, she attended the amfAR New York Gala arm-in-arm with the designer, who dreamed up the form-flattering, crimson creation she wore on the red carpet.
The supermodel’s appearance at the gala came just days after she revealed in an interview with Porter that her 1989 retirement from modeling came about from the rising popularity of the ’90s supers, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, and Christy Turlington. “The philosophical answer is that I knew that there was no more that I could do, and I needed to walk away in order to start something new,” she said. “The less philosophical truth was that I had Linda and Naomi and Christy and Cindy behind me, and they were going to push me out anyway, so I had to leave with grace.”
During the interview, she also spoke on how she will never remarry following David Bowie’s death in 2016. “I mentioned my husband the other day with someone, and they said to me: ‘You mean your late husband?’ I said, no, he is always going to be my husband,” she told the magazine. “I do feel very lonely, but do I want a relationship? I can’t say never, but no, not now.”
Iman and Bowie were married for 24 years and have one daughter together, Alexandria Zahra, who goes by Lexi. The 18-year-old is an artist and lives a blissful, under-the-radar life, which her mother wants to protect. “Every agency, every designer, called me to say: ‘If she wants to, we’d love for her to model for us,'” Iman shared with the magazine. “I said: ‘No, she doesn’t.’ I know why they wanted her to model – it’s because she is David Bowie’s daughter.”
Despite her highly successful modeling career, Iman is hesitant on having her daughter follow the same path. “She says I am overprotective, but I told her, this can all wait, it isn’t going anywhere. Have a life that is private while you can, because one day soon it is going to be public, so enjoy this.”
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