Linda Evangelista marks her runway return a year after revealing she'd been 'brutally disfigured'

Last September Linda Evangelista revealed that a CoolSculpting procedure intended to reduce fat had left her "brutally disfigured" and "unrecognizable." One year later, she's returning to the runway.

On Friday night, the 57-year-old supermodel made a surprise cameo on the catwalk at Fendi's New York Fashion Week show, marking her first runway appearance in 15 years in a voluminous Tiffany blue gown. Evangelista was greeted with a standing ovation as she stood alongside alongside Marc Jacobs, Kim Jones, Delfina Delettrez and Silvia Venturini Fendi for a final bow.

The fashion community has rallied around the Canadian model since she opened up about her reclusive life she's had after developing Paradoxical Adipose Hyperplasia (PAH), a rare complication of fat-freezing in which fatty tissue is increased rather than reduced. In July, Evangelista was cast in Fendi's campaign celebrating the 25th anniversary of its baguette bag ahead of its New York Fashion Week show.

A month later, she graced the cover of British Vogue, though she noted that makeup artist Pat McGrath had used tape and elastics to create a smoother neck and jawline for the fashion shoot.

"I have incisions all over my body," Evangelista, who has settled her lawsuit against CoolSculpting marketers, told the fashion magazine. "I have had stitches, I have worn compression garments under my chin, I’ve had my entire body tightly girdled for eight weeks – nothing helped.

"I miss my work so much, but honestly, what can I do? It isn’t going to be easy," she added. "You’re not going to see me in a swimsuit, that’s for sure. It’s going to be difficult to find jobs with things protruding from me; without retouching, or squeezing into things, or taping things or compressing or tricking… "

Wellness, parenting, body image and more: Get to know the who behind the hoo with Yahoo Life's newsletter. Sign up here.