The Most Surprising Models of Fashion Week Fall 2022

Blink twice, and you easily could’ve missed Serena Williams at Off-White. The tennis star was the first surprise guest on the catwalk at Off-White’s tribute to the late Virgil Abloh. And while she may be new to modeling, Williams is no stranger to wearing the label: She memorably wore a black tutu and sneakers that read “queen” while competing in the U.S. Open in 2018.

“I’m a model for real,” the rapper Jim Jones said backstage at Off-White, marveling at getting his nails and makeup done at the same time. “Runway, Paris, don’t play with me.”

The musician Ama Lou also tried her hand at modeling, toting a skateboard and hat with large fuzzy horns.

Sigrid Agren, who was a runway regular in the late aughts, returned to the catwalk for the first time in seven years (and first time ever as a mom).

DJ Honey Dijon, who starred in Off-White’s fall 2021 campaign, shouted out the show’s Chicago energy on Instagram. She shares the city as her hometown with Abloh, Cindy Crawford, and Jeff Mills, who took charge of the soundtrack.

Euphoria star Hunter Schafer closed out Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons’s tribute to models at Prada fall 2022, marking her second surprise appearance this season.

“Thanks for the warm welcome back to Milano,” the aughts-era Canadian supermodel Jessica Stam posted after returning to the runway for the first time since a one-off appearance in 2018 at Max Mara.

The Ghanaian-born Savile Row tailor Ozwald Boateng returned from a 12-year hiatus with a runway presentation he characterized as “a culmination of thirty years of representation of his] African heritage.” He put on such a show that Idris Elba (second from left) blended right in.

Rihanna-approved choreographer Parris Goebel’s runway appearances had almost entirely been limited to Savage x Fenty until she turned up at the Blonds on the final day of New York Fashion Week.

Collina Strada’s Hilary Taymour put Tommy Dorfman front and center in her label’s presentation and reality TV parody The Collinas (which translates to The Hills in Italian). The latter finds the 13 Reasons Why star playing an intern inspired by Lauren Conrad—and wearing plenty of eye-catching Collina looks while doing so.

Rowan Blanchard is no stranger to fashion campaigns, but had only otherwise appeared in a Rodarte lookbook prior to joining Dorfman at Collina Strada.

The artist Chloe Wise, who’s long been known for her style, also made the leap from the front row to the catwalk at Collina Strada.

Have you been doubting the return of what’s become known as “indie sleaze”? Well, look no further than the multiple cameos that Cory Kennedy, former “It” girl and muse to the party photographer The Cobrasnake, made alongside her for proof that it’s the real deal.

Schafer first returned to her modeling roots this season at Gogo Graham’s outdoor fall 2022 showing in Ridgewood, Queens. “She and I had a discussion and she told me she was interested in helping with my brand financially,” Graham, who specializes in bespoke designs for trans women, told W. “She believes in having everyone being paid adequately, which is really awesome. Over the years, I’ve been learning about how a lot of industry models get nothing when they’re in shows, which is really hard to imagine. I came up with a budget and then Hunter was like, ‘Let’s pay all the girls more.’”

Julia Fox made her runway debut at LaQuan Smith to a chorus of cheers. “[It was] very serendipitous,” the actor told W backstage. “Not planned at all—like everything else in my life.”

You’d have to be a real literary buff to recognize Ottessa Moshfegh on the runway at Maryam Nassir Zadeh, and even more so to know that she surprisingly signed to Midland Agency last October. The author of the critically acclaimed 2018 novel My Year of Rest and Relaxation also made an appearance of sorts at Proenza Schouler, where designers Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough provided showgoers with a copy of her short story Where Will We Go Next?

Musician Okay Kaya turned up at both Maryam Nassir Zadeh (seen here) and Eckhaus Latta.

Supermodel Beverly Johnson made a comeback at Sergio Hudson (who technically showed a spring 2022 collection) in a pale pink dress with a peplum trim. The 69-year-old trailblazer last walked the Tommy Hilfiger x Zendaya show at Paris Fashion Week in 2019.

You may not recognize Gisele Zelauy’s name, but if you’ve ever been down an old fashion show YouTube rabbit hole, Hudson’s other casting coup may very well look familiar. The gray-haired 54-year-old was a favorite of Karl Lagerfeld back in the ‘90s, which was also when Franco Moschino christened her the new look of the decade.

A few days after she delivered a surprise of her own by casting Moshfegh, designer Maryam Nassir Zadeh gave the runway a go at Eckhaus Latta’s 10th anniversary show.

Fresh off her delightful cameo as Rabbi Jen in the finale of And Just Like That..., Hari Nef also showed her support for longtime friends Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta.

Last but not least, they were joined by 47-year-old Frankie Rayder, who was a runway staple in the 2000s. The model is a close friend of the artist and Eckhaus Latta muse Susan Cianciolo, who also walked the show.

Former Hood by Air designer Shayne Oliver debuted his namesake label with a little help from the Eartheater, whose performance served as the grand finale. The experimental multi-genre musician has some experience with the catwalk: She walked the spring 2021 Mugler show alongside Hunter Schafer and Bella Hadid.