Gigi Hadid could now officially add "catwalk security" in her resume next to her impressive modeling portfolio. At the Chanel Spring 2020 show in Paris, Gigi was seen escorting a French gatecrasher off the runway.
The intruder, later identified as Marie Benoliel, jumped onto the runway during the finale walk. She inserted herself amongst the Chanel models while wearing a black and white houndstooth-printed tweed coordinates, a hat, and platform heels—a calculated outfit that could easily blend in the slew of runway models.
Marie was quick on her feet and was able to get away from the security personnel who raced towards her as she attempted to jump on the runway. Fortunately, Gigi (who was posing on the other side of the runway) spotted her and intercepted the intruder. The model sternly blocked Marie from further walking down the catwalk. With the help of the other models, they were able to escort Marie off the stage.
A few hours later, the house of Chanel has issued a statement regarding the fiasco. "This person is a comedian known for this type of prank. She had crashed another runway recently. Her presence on the catwalk was not planned. Security guards simply led her to the exit at the end of the show."
Further, Marie explains herself in an interview. She says, "Chanel is eternal. My tribute was a desire to take part in this eternity for a few minutes." Marie also narrated her side during that encounter with Gigi. "Gigi was quite nervous by all means and reacted quite aggressively to me. She clearly did not understand my comic approach. I understand her reaction somewhat and continue to love her in spite of that."
Marie also says that she had no intention of ruining the show. "I understand that some people can feel angry because they have put up lots of work in these shows, but at the end of the day, I am not crashing anything! I am like a funny image in the background of a movie."
As it turns out, this wasn't Marie's first time in gatecrashing events. In fact, this seems to be her bread and butter for her YouTube channel. She goes with the stage name Marie S'Infiltre, which translates to "Marie inserts herself." She has about 229,000 subscribers on YouTube and has amassed about 212,000 followers on Instagram.
Just last week, Marie also crashed the show of French lingerie label Etam. Unlike the reactions she garnered at Chanel, her presence on the Etam runway brought laughter from the crowd and the models.
Prior to her fashion week stunts, Marie also infiltrated the Festival de Cannes back in 2017. She walked the red carpet clad in a black dress with the words "seeking role" in French on her back. She even added a phone number.
Marie claims that her purpose is "to better reveal the comic reality that is hidden in the news." In an interview with CNN, Marie further describes her comedy as an "exhaustive satire about our society." She even cites Sacha Baron Cohen as her inspiration. "I am not making fun of people, I am pointing out how silly some people can be when they lack distance and thinking," she adds. Marie also has a one-woman show at the Comédie des Champs-Elysées theatre in Paris.
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