Last week Rihanna’s New York Fashion Week Savage x Fenty lingerie show was full of show-stoppers, but none more eye-catching than 22-year-old model Slick Woods. The catwalk was strutted by an exceptionally diverse range of models, celebrating skin tones and body types the fashion industry often shuns.
One body that’s especially disregarded by fashion designers – and especially lingerie designers – is that of a pregnant woman. Woods was so heavily pregnant on Wednesday that she went into labour immediately after stepping off the catwalk.
Slick Woods walking the 2018 Savage x Fenty runway
Woods was a vision in black pasties and cut-out lingerie, and wore nude printed thigh-high pantyhose. She proved to the industry that motherhood doesn’t strip a woman of her power nor her sexuality. The show’s tightly-choreographed performances (thanks to Kiwi Parris Goebel) illustrated savagery, wildness, and control – the women were sexy, sure, but they weren’t submissive.
Her contractions began as the show ended, and paramedics arrived at the venue to take Woods to hospital. Her partner, model and musician Adonis Bosso, considered fatherhood a gift. “It was the most amazing news I’ve ever gotten. I’ll always remember when I found out. I was in the middle of the street with my guitar, I was actually headed to my guitar class. Looking back, it was actually really cinematic,” he said.
The baby boy is named Saphir, and Woods sees her new motherhood as an opportunity for healing. “At 14, 15, I never expected to ever be giving any type of life; to be this happy with having a child. From not having family to being able to create your own. Things you lacked, things you missed out on, trauma – you can erase that by creating new life. All those things you didn’t get, all those hugs and kisses. I can retract those things with my son’s life.”
We wish the new family all the best. See every look from the Savage x Fenty 2018 show here.
Watch the live-streamed video of the mesmerising show below.
