Heavy/Getty Katy Perry walking in the Vogue World fashion show in Paris on June 23, 2024.
When pop icon and former “American Idol” judge Katy Perry arrived in Paris for Haute Couture Week, excited to attend fashion shows featuring one-of-a-kind designs alongside a bevy of celebrities, she was shocked and nervous when Vogue asked her to model in one.
Hours later, on June 23, 2024, she made headlines for leading marching band drummers through Place Vendôme, dressed in a cut-out Noir Kei Ninomiya dress, per Vogue, which left little to the imagination — the first of multiple head-turning designs she’d wear during the week.
Perry told the story of her surprise fashion show appearance when she went live on multiple social media platforms on June 25, 2024, with the Eiffel Tower sparkling behind her, telling fans, “I’m so happy and, like, flying from today!”
Katy Perry Says She Could Never Say No to Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour
As Perry streamed live from a dark Parisian street with the Eiffel Tower and an image promoting her upcoming single, “Woman’s World,” projected on a building behind her, the pop star asked if fans wanted to know about her experience modeling for Vogue.
“Can I tell you the story about becoming a model?” she asked. “I haven’t told anyone yet. It’s just been so fun, so I guess I’ll tell you all. So here’s the deal: you never say no to Anna Wintour.”
Gushing about the longtime editor-in-chief of Vogue and Conde Nast, Perry continued, “Anna Wintour, she’s like the queen, she runs all of Vogue, she is such a strong leader and a wonderful woman.”
“She is that ‘Woman’s World and we’re lucky to be living in it,'” Perry continued, coyly reciting a line from her new song, to be released on July 11. “But okay, so I get off a plane to come here to Paris. And I land around like 9:30 and, you know, I haven’t showered or anything and I’m going to the fitting for ‘Vogue World,’ for the fashion show. And I thought it was just sitting in the audience.”
Explaining that she was so jet-lagged, Perry said she slept in the van taking them from the airport to the offices, and that she was a bit out of it when they arrived.
“I get to the fitting and all of a sudden they start saying, ‘Would you walk in the show?’ And I’m like, ‘What do you mean?’ (They said), ‘Would you be a model for the show?’ And then they show me this dress and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. Okay. Yes!'”
Though rehearsals for the show had been held the night before, Perry said the organizers shared that there was a section of the with drummers that “felt like it was missing something” and that they felt she’d be a great addition to the show at that point. When Wintour walked in to back them up on Vogue’s desire to have Perry walk the show, the pop star said she couldn’t possibly say no.
“So, like literally, I leave there at like one o’clock or 1:30 and then I just started getting … makeup and I’m walking hours later in a show, and there’s so many people in the audience that I love and respect and designers!”
Katy Perry Admits She Was Unusually Nervous for Her Vogue Fashion Show Debut
During her live stream, Perry admitted that she was nervous before walking in heels on the cobblestone street, which was lined by seats filled with celebrities in entertainment and fashion.
“I don’t really get nervous because I’m always pretty prepared,” she said. “That’s like my key to handling my nerves are being prepared. But this was, like, so last minute, and I will tell you I was, like, a little nervous. My mouth was dry. I was like, ‘Oh my god.'”
After it was over, though, Perry said the entire experience “was awesome.”
“I loved it and I loved wearing that dress, or parts of the dress,” she joked, acknowledging how revealing it was. “I feel very comfortable in my skin right now, especially after becoming a mother, and very grounded and very empowered.”
“I’m happy I did it and it’s just been a whirlwind in Paris since then,” Perry added.
The “Firework” singer has turned heads throughout the week with her various fashions, including a blood orange Balenciaga dress with a 100-yard train, per ET Online, that featured the lyrics to “Woman’s World” on it.
On June 26, Perry turned heads again when she attended the Balenciaga Fall 2024 Couture show, sitting in the front row next to actress Nicole Kidman while wearing a fuzzy black coat and ripped, semi-sheer black tights but no top, exposing much of her torso and chest.
“I wanted to be streamlined, sexy, sensual,” Perry told Women’s Wear Daily. “”I wanted to wear my nylon right above my c-section scar. That’s the lowest I was gonna go. Right there.”