Pregnant Women Are Almost Never Runway Models—Except at Chanel

At Chanel's second showing of its latest Métiers d'Art collection, held at Seoul's Centre Pompidou Hanwha, front row guests and online commentators expected to obsess over details like a sequin appliqué on a Chanel Maxi Flap bag or silk that perfectly mimicked a pair of faded jeans. By the show's end, all anyone could talk about was a gesture.

As model Sora Choi lapped the museum in a flapper-inspired white dress, the same Chanel look recently worn by Marie Claire cover star Ashley Graham—and two-strap sandal heels, her hands rose to cradle her midsection—universal shorthand for "I'm pregnant." Shortly after, her mid-runway pregnancy reveal lit up industry accounts like @hautelemode. General observers around the world were all awed by Mom's graceful announcement and Baby's future closet. "Baby's first Chanel!" the comments screamed. For me, a fashion editor who frequently reports on runway size inclusivity and a first-time expecting mother myself, there was much more to Chanel casting a pregnant model than a very chic baby on board.

Bodies beyond a sample size are increasingly rare on fashion's most prestigious runways. At the Fall 2026 fashion shows, non-straight size casting hit an all-time low. In this world, women who are pregnant might as well not exist. Inclusivity stats tabulated by Vogue Business each season don't include pregnancy because it's flat-out not included in high-fashion casting. Maternity clothes, at Paris or Milan Fashion Week? It's too groundbreaking for most labels to fathom. Never mind that expecting moms, like every other demographic within womanhood, could be a potential customer for the label. And, models have just as much freedom to become mothers as any other woman working in fashion.

When women who are expecting do turn up at a glossy fashion show, it's often a one-off. Someone with a big name makes a reveal, like Jasmine Tookes' at the 2025 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, without another casting to follow it up.

The first major exception to the rule takes shape at Copenhagen Fashion Week's primarily women-led calendar, where I've observed moms-to-be walking the runways each season alongside models of varied body types and physical abilities. (Inclusive casting is written into the event's requirements, unlike other markets.) And now, there's a second exception: Chanel.

Choi, it turns out, isn't the first model to display a changing pregnancy body on a Chanel runway this spring. In late April, Kaya Wilkins modeled Chanel's Cruise 2027 collection with her bouclé jacket fully unbuttoned, highlighting her five-month bump beneath a black bralette. At the time, she told Vogue her child was "the world's youngest runway model." And, more tellingly, that the Chanel team had sought out a mom-to-be to spotlight its latest collection: "Matthieu [Blazy] and Anita [Bitton], the casting director, were looking for someone pregnant, so I was quite lucky to have a little bump on me," she said.

Wilkins and Choi's back-to-back castings are part of a broader expansion of who gets to be a Chanel woman, both on and off the runway. Since joining the house almost one year ago, creative director Matthieu Blazy has emphasized castings that break away from the predominantly young, white, and thin mold that defines the industry overall. Mature models in their 50s and 60s, like Stephanie Cavalli, appeared in the Fall 2026 and Haute Couture runways. Bhavitha Mandava, an NYU Masters student, was plucked off a subway platform to open the 2026 Métiers d'Art show—the first Indian model to do so. (Chanel did not reply to a request for comment elaborating on their recent castings; this story will be updated if they do.)

These runways aren't perfectly representative of real life, but they paint a broader picture than eras past. In an interview with The New York Times, discussing age inclusivity, Blazy said mature models "bring a completely different dimension to the clothes." Meaning age isn't the disadvantage the fashion industry implies it is; it adds character and depth to the styling. The same can be said for bringing expecting mothers to the runway.

These days, the women modeling Chanel's latest collections are earning as much hype as the It bags and pony hair flats. They're a sign that fashion can reflect the realities of womanhood without giving up the luxury fantasy of a far-flung show and expertly crafted materials. Suddenly, I'm expecting a lot more out of other runways' casting.

Editor's note: This post has been updated.