Jil Sander 2009: The Mystery of the Crying Model Deepens

Being a catwalk model is never an easy job, regardless of the general misconception about it. As many other models can testify after their recent humiliating, public tumbles, the job can often take a toll on one, which, in turn, could make them burst into tears during a fashion show. Newcomer Auguste Abeliunaite could certainly testify for that, as she walked the Jil Sander Fall 2009 catwalk with tears streaming down her face – and no one seems to know what was ailing her, Grazia magazine reports.

The incident occurred, as noted, during the presentation of the Jil Sander Fall 2009 show, when all eyes were turned away from the collection itself for a couple of minutes, and onto the seemingly distressed, sad-looking model. 16-year-old Auguste was not just sad, there were tears streaming down her face, even if it showed no emotion.

The question was inevitably asked: were the highly uncomfortable, insanely high shoes to blame? Or perhaps the slippery catwalk? The lights? And, what’s most important, as Grazia points out, did the designer notice and do anything to help the girl?

The fashion industry will not get an answer to any of these questions from Jil Sander, as several media outlets have contacted her publicist but only got “I did not see it, can’t see it in the video and no one has asked about it to anyone in the press offices” in return. Auguste’s agent, though, tried to make the best of the situation and told HeardOnTheRunway that it was a bad combination of strong lighting and light-colored eyes that made the model weep.

“She has delicate eyes. We were laughing with the casting director after the show. We love the girl. We think she is amazing. The girls of the east have sad eyes in general.” the agent said about Auguste’s extremely pale blue eyes, which were reportedly the cause for her tears. Add to that being nervous (this was Auguste’s fourth show, and she is relatively new to the industry) and the strong lights, and we have an explanation, the agent continued by adding. At the same time, he explained that other two girls went through exactly the same thing at Jil Sander’s show, but so far, no evidence of this has been found.

With all the detailed explanations that Auguste’s agent is offering the media, other outlets are simply not buying it. Chances are the model was crying because of the shoes, most likely, but cases of young girls being treated badly backstage are also pretty common, so that too could be an option, Grazia seems to hint. “Maybe it’s just another model injury – we heard in London one model arrived at a casting in floods of tears after hair extensions glued on for one show had been brutally ripped off straight afterwards. Nice.” the magazine writes.