Gisele Bndchen recalls almost "running away" from the show that kickstarted her career

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In her new autobiography, Gisele Bündchen has revealed that she almost walked away from the 1998 Alexander McQueen show that kickstarted her international modelling career. The then 18-year-old Brazilian burst into tears and almost left when she was told that she would be walking down the runway topless.

In the book, Bündchen recalls being cast in the show and being told that she would only be wearing a fishtail skirt on the catwalk with no top.

"I was a good girl," she said. "I was a tomboy. I was someone whose big breasts has embarrassed her since she'd hit puberty. I was a girl gripped by the fear that my family would feel so embarrassed they would never speak to me again. I was terrified."

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The model admits that she broke down sobbing, before considering "running away" from the show. She says that she knew she couldn't embarrass her family, but that if she left, that would be her modelling career over with.

However, a make-up artist named Val saved the day by coming up with a novel idea. She decided to paint a white top onto Bündchen's body so that she did not have to walk the runway topless.

"As soon as Val, the make-up artist, saw the situation, she said she would paint a top on me using white make-up. Val told me how beautiful it looked and said that the runway was so dark that nobody would know. If Val hadn't shown up then, I seriously doubt that I could have walked the runway."

Bündchen went on to explain that the show became a pivotal moment in her career: "It turned out that walking in Alexander McQueen's show was the beginning of my international career."

Bündchen went on to become one of the most successful and highly paid models in the world.

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