Every season, fashion week designers try to shock their A-List audience members with more than just their striking seasonal wardrobe. Elaborate sets, edgy walking styles or surprise interruptions, are just some of the previously employed methods. This year, Valentino’s show at Paris Fashion Week left every audience member with their jaws dropped open.
After a 15-year hiatus, Derek Zoolander returned to the runway.
The 2001 comedy “Zoolander” was a hit when it came out, and its one-liners and infamous model antics have served as inspiration for countless memes and jokes over the years. The film featured an all-star cast, including Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, and Owen Wilson during the height of their comedic heydays.
Since the release of the film, there has been a call for a sequel by avid fans. Years of speculation later, the film gods have finally answered fans’ request.
Ben Stiller’s Derek Zoolander and Owen Wilson’s Hansel characters shocked the crowd when they emerged on the Valentino runway right before the finale. Stiller-as-Derek sported a suave navy suit-and-tie and trench ensemble encrusted with embellished butterflies, and Wilson-as-Hansel gave a nod to his character’s hippy vibe in a shiny light blue pajama outfit, topped off with white sneakers and a trench coat.
The crowds went wild as the two strutted their best “Blue Steel” looks and at one point, Wilson-as-Hansel flung his jacket down the runway.
How a surprise this big was kept such a tight-lipped secret is beyond me. Valentino’s reps told the press they had been absolutely sworn to secrecy about the surprise. The fact that it was Valentino, a more serious, sophisticated brand, that sent the comedians down the runway added even more appeal to the unexpected appearance.
Apart from shocking the show’s attendees, the whole appearance erupted on the Internet. Jerome Jarre, a Vine sensation and Snapchat star, was mid filming when Stiller-as-Derek grabbed his phone and continued his strut in a video that now has almost 20 million views. Vogue’s Anna Wintour even joined in the fun, with Vogue.com posting a video of fashion’s leading lady hanging out back stage with the two and asking them all about their “modeling careers”.
While the film isn’t set to be released until February of next year, this runway take over will have to hold off avid fans until then.