The 24-year-old Victoria's Secret model opens up in a new interview about how people have tried to convince her she didn't have a good body even though she actually worked hard on it.

• Feb 20, 2020

AceShowbiz - Gigi Hadid's road to become one of the successful models in the world was not easy. In a new interview, the daughter of former model Yolanda Hadid opened up about how people in the fashion industry tried, in the beginning of her career, to make her feel like she was not good enough.

The Victoria's Secret model spilled that people "tried to say" that she "didn't have a runway body" in a cover interview for the Spring issue of i-D magazine. "At the time I was still starting out in my career, I was coming out of high school, I still had my volleyball body. It was a body that I loved," she shared. "I knew how hard I worked to have those muscles, to be curved in those places - I kind of miss it now."

During the interview, the girlfriend of Zayn Malik also explained the significance of Jean Paul Gaultier to the start of her runway career. Recalling the first time the legendary couturier had her at his last ready-to-wear show in 2015, she explained that he did not only have her, but also put her in an outfit that didn't cover a lot.

"There were still stylists or designers at that time who were putting me in their shows, but putting me something that really covered my body," she explained. "And so for him to make me feel like he wanted me to shine in that way, it really meant a lot to me as a young model. And I know that he has done that for a lot of people."

Asked to share her thought on Jean Paul's final couture show, the older sister of Bella Hadid gushed, "I was so honored to be asked to walk in it, because he didn't just work with the people who he'd worked with for his whole career, but he also streetcast so much of his last couture show. And I think that says so much about who he is as a designer and as a person. He cares so much about the person that's wearing the look and bringing out something in them."

Gigi took part in Jean Paul's final runway show for his namesake brand at Paris Fashion Week on January 22. At the show that also marked the fashion designer's 50th anniversary, she strutted down the catwalk in an accordion-style, ruffled blue and white striped top that is paired with flowing white trousers.