Top teen model Lindsey Wixson takes a tumble at Versace (and in those shoes, could anyone blame her?)

By Tamara Abraham


Scroll down for a history of runway tumbles...

Fashion faux pas: Top model Lindsey Wixson stumbled and fell on the runway at the Versace show this evening


Walking the Versace show would be a career high for any young model. So when Lindsey Wixson came crashing down at the label's Milan show this evening, she must have been crushed.

The 17-year-old, who had been wearing towering transparent platforms with her evening gown, stumbled in the challenging footwear as she made her return trip down the runway.

But to her credit, she appeared to have a sense of humour about the situation, raising her arms in victory once she was back on her feet.

Sense of humour: The 17-year-old industry favourite raised her arms in victory once she was back on her feet


It is an admirable attitude. But this is not the first time the teenager, from Witchita, Kansas, has fallen at a high-profile show.

Earlier this year she made headlines when she fell several times at Naomi Campbell's Fashion for Relief fundraiser in Cannes.

The performance was so dramatic that many believed she had fallen on purpose for effect, but Lindsey insists this was not the case.

But few girls could survive such a faux pas, as one model agency insider revealed to us this week.

Our source, who was speaking after one unfortunate model tripped on her dress during the Amanda Wakeley show in London this week, admitted that falling on the catwalk can be career-threatening.

'It's quite common for girls to be quietly dropped by their agents after tripping or falling during a show,' they told MailOnline.

'As far as the designers are concerned the model's job is to make the clothes look fantastic. That's compromised when she starts stumbling down the catwalk like a drunk.

'If the girl is what the model industry calls a 'new face' it could terminate her career before she's even really got started. Walking is how new faces launch or raise their profile in order to land moneyed jobs like advertising campaigns.'

Catwalk moment: It is not the first time Lindsey has tripped on the runway - in May, she fell several times at Naomi Campbell's Fashion for Relief fundraiser in Cannes

Dramatic: The performance was so extreme that many believed Lindsey had fallen on purpose for effect


They added that many models lived in fear of falling on the runway, and often had tricks to avoid it happening.

'I know girls who will do anything to avoid it, include asking for shoes a bone-crushing size too small to ensure there is no chance of their high heels coming loose half way down the catwalk,' they revealed.

'I came across one girl who carried sandpaper in her Gucci handbag and used it to rough up the bottom of her show shoes to give her extra grip.'

Career suicide? Earlier this week a model tripped on her gown at the Amanda Wakeley show in London (left). Another, at the Mark Fast show, got her heel caught on her delicate knit dress (right)


The source admitted that the more well-known models were less likely to be affected: 'If the model has an existing profile and clientele then she will probably survive a few stumbles - look at Naomi Campbell.'

Indeed, Lindsey, who was bullied at school for her unusual looks, is the fashion world's darling and unlikely to be affected by the more unforgiving side of the industry.

Since making her debut, she has appeared in campaigns for Alexander McQueen, Miu Miu and Mulberry, among many others.

FALL COLLECTION: A HISTORY OF RUNWAY STUMBLES

Taking a tumble: A model went flying on the slippery runway at a Marc by Marc Jacobs show in February 2010

Slip-up: A Prada show in 2008 descended into farce when a last-minute decision to have the models wear little socks with their heels caused many of them to slip and fall across the runway

Naomi moment: Schoolgirl model Nina Porter, then 16, made an impact in more ways than one when she tripped and fell as she closed the Burberry Prorsum catwalk show in September last year

Helping hand: Ana Claudia Michels is lifted to her feet by another model after falling during the Blue Man swimwear show at Rio de Janeiro fashion week in June this year

Crash landing: A model took a dramatic tumble in New York in February at the Christian Siriano show

The original: Naomi Campbell's fall on the Vivienne Westwood catwalk in Paris in 1993 went down in history


source:dailymail