Gigi and Bella Hadid’s Sister Alana Makes NYFW Runway Debut at Age 40: ‘I’m So Honored’

Gigi and Bella Hadid’s elder sister, Alana, just made her New York Fashion Week runway debut, and third runway appearance at 40 years old.

On Tuesday evening, Alana joined the Elena Velez 2023 New York Fashion Week show in a corseted beige ombre floor-length gown. Alana’s look was styled with white lace gloves, an intricate white nail design, a blown-out hairstyle and white leather knee-high boots.

Alana posted a behind-the-scenes video of her NYFW runway debut via Instagram, accompanied by the Nine Inch Nails 1994 song “Closer.”

She captioned the video with “Thank you @elenavelez for letting me wear your gorgeous creation & play in the mud with you last night. I’m so honored. What a masterpiece. Thank you to your amazing team Cc: @andrewcurwen @joe.van.o (and a special thank you @nadinematar for the perfect BTS & @hoybot I love you).”

The official Elene Velez account replied to Alana’s post with a gracious comment, “Thank you for bringing this wild evening to life 💕.”

One behind-the-scenes clip featured the model sitting in her styling chair, as the hair and makeup teams surrounded her to discuss their plans for her runway look.

Alana’s NYFW runway debut follows her first fashion show appearance in Denmark last month. Alana appeared at the opening Saks Potts’ spring 2024 show during Copenhagen Fashion Week on Aug. 9. She also walked during the Munthe show a couple of days later. 

Similar to her NYFW debut, Alana posted a peek of the Copenhagen show on Instagram with a carousel of photos and videos. 

“Core memory made in Denmark with @sakspotts 🙏🏼 my first runway!" Alana captioned her Copenhagen Fashion Week post. "Thank you @barbarapotts @cathrinesaks 🤍🌧️✨what a way to arrive to Copenhagen, opening for the most amazing brand… in the rain.”

In between her NYFW and CFW debuts, Alana told PEOPLE exclusively that beginning her runway career at 40 years old has become a “fortuitous gift,” as a result of her impromptu decision to take a trip to Denmark instead. Throughout her travels, she immersed herself in the Scandinavian designs and, in a moment of admiration, reached out to Danish designers Saks Potts and Munthe via social media. Alana’s debut in Denmark was coordinated shortly after.

"I said yes, as it's something that I've decided to do in my 40s — just say yes to a lot of things, and it was amazing," Alana told PEOPLE. "It was phenomenal.”

The fashion designer and Hadid Eyewear co-owner told PEOPLE that this new opportunity helped her passion for the fashion industry grow. “I think I found something else that I'm really passionate about in fashion, and it's exhilarating. I would love to do it all over the world,” she said.

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As for her sisters Gigi, 28, and Bella, 26 — her new colleagues — they couldn’t be more excited for their older sister.

"We're a super supportive family of all the things that everyone's doing. We're always doing a million things, and we just support each other," Alana said. "They were like, 'You're going to kill it.’”