Yesterday was Maddie Moon’s first time modelling at New York Fashion Week. But the Manhattan-based designer wasn’t alone in her debut at Collina Strada’s fall ready-to-wear show—it was her daughter’s (with fiancé Waris Ahluwalia) first time modelling, at 32 weeks in utero, too.
“[Collina Strada designer] Hillary was over for a low-key dinner one night and we shared the news of our pregnancy,” Moon tells me. “I was only showing a little at the time, but she asked if I wanted to walk in her show. I felt comfortable doing it because I know it isn’t a stunt—Hillary constantly designs clothing for people who are typically overlooked by fashion and features them on her runway.”
Months later, here we are at Fashion Week. Moon is now in her final trimester and showing much more dramatically.
“I went in to try on a few outfits, and Hillary and I talked about how we both didn’t want me to feel like a blob,” Moon says with a laugh. “Sometimes it can be hard to find clothing when you’re pregnant. But when I tried on the outfit I ended up walking in, I just felt changed. Typically, there isn’t regard for how the model feels in the clothing, but I felt sexy in this, and so that’s why it was chosen.
Her outfit included a pair of black silk-and-lace boxing shorts and a creamy mint shirt with on-the-top buttons connected à la the Rihanna pregnancy announcement. (Moon stated Ri as a game changer for pregnancy dressing in general.)
In the frenzy of preshow energy, Strada checked in with Moon, asking: “Do you feel sexy? Do you feel strong?” All of which perfectly tied back to the season’s theme of Collina’s Gym, made in the spirit of the Gold’s Gym logo.
“I really did,” Moon says. “I recently read that a study found that a woman’s endurance during pregnancy is similar to that of doing an Iron Man. If that isn’t strong, I don’t know what is.”
This article was originally published on Vogue.com.
