Linda Evangelista: Supermodel settles cosmetic procedure case

Former supermodel Linda Evangelista has settled a legal case with a company, 10 months after alleging their cosmetic procedure left her "permanently deformed".

She said last September she had experienced an adverse reaction to a fat reduction procedure five years ago which actually increased her fat cells.

Last year she said she was left "unrecognisable" by the procedure.

Evangelista told her 1.2 million Instagram followers it was the reason she had disappeared from the public eye.

The terms of the settlement have not been made public. The BBC has asked both the model and the parent company behind the procedure, Allergan, for comment.

The Canadian model said last year she had undergone "two painful, unsuccessful, corrective surgeries" after the slimming procedure - also known as body contouring - had had the opposite effect.

"To my followers who have wondered why I have not been working while my peers' careers have been thriving, the reason is that I was brutally disfigured by... [a procedure] which did the opposite of what it promised," Evangelista explained.

She said the side effect she experienced "has not only destroyed my livelihood, it has sent me into a cycle of deep depression, profound sadness and the lowest depths of self-loathing. In the process I have become a recluse".

The non-surgical procedure, which has grown in popularity in recent years, uses cold temperatures to reduce fat deposits in certain areas of the body.

Describing the "very rare but serious side effect" she had experienced, Evangelista said it "means the fat cells in the treatment site grow larger rather than smaller", adding: "It's not fully understood why this occurs."

Evangelista rose to fame in the 1990s as one of a group of emerging supermodels, gracing high-end catwalks around the world and the cover of leading fashion magazine Vogue.

The model has kept a low profile in recent years, rarely posting new images of herself on social media.

In the few pictures she has posted, her face is often partially obscured by a headscarf or hat.