So I was watching this old Victoria’s Secret fashion show clip last weekend – you know how it is, the algorithm just sucks you in. Suddenly saw Adriana Lima absolutely killing it on that iconic runway. Got me thinking, wait, which big-name designers actually had her strutting for them back in the 2000s? Seemed easy, right? Wrong.
Started simple. Googled “Adriana Lima designers 2000s.” Big mistake. First page was pure mess. Three links just repeating her VS work, two confusing her with Gisele, one dead Geocities-looking fan page. Zero help. Figured I needed better sources.
Digging Deeper Than Expected
Grabbed my laptop properly. Hit up Vogue Runway archives – figured they’d have the good stuff. Scrolled and clicked like crazy filtering for the 2000s. Saw tons of big shows… but spotting Adriana specifically? Like finding a needle in a haystack. Seriously time-consuming. Noticed she popped up most consistently around Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer seasons in key cities.
- Started checking brands one by one, year by year.
- NYC Shows: Flipped through pages for Marc Jacobs, Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta. Found her! Mostly around 2004-2007.
- Milan Calling: Dove into Versace. Boom – there she was circa 2005/2006 walking fierce in those signature sharp tailoring pieces. Also spotted her buried in Dolce & Gabbana archives from like 2003. Always a solid look.
- Paris Scene: This was trickier. Scanned older Chanel collections. Few appearances! Mostly under Karl Lagerfeld in the mid-2000s. Found her face buried in blurry backstage shots too.
Started building a list in my notebook. Kept cross-checking names against Fashion Spot forum threads (yeah those old discussion boards are weirdly gold for modeling history). Verified dates. Saw gaps though – lots of little filler shows missing, like random seasons.
The Real Headliners Emerged
After like three hours? Finally had a solid picture of her heavy hitters. Clear patterns showed up:
- Victoria’s Secret – obviously huge runway presence, every single major show.
- Versace – Her go-to high fashion runway, especially 2005-2007. Iconic looks.
- Chanel – Fewer shows but damn memorable. Lagerfeld loved her vibe.
- Christian Dior – Found records for several seasons under Galliano circa 2003-2004. Pure glam.
- Dolce & Gabbana – Those Sicilian widow looks? She sold them hard mid-decade.
Surprised myself honestly. Expected maybe six names. Ended up with fifteen reliable shows after cross-referencing everywhere. Notebook was full of scribbles. Realized how inconsistent archived photos were too – some years perfect, others total blanks. Still, the core list stood strong.
Final takeaway? Lima dominated VS for sure, but designers like Versace and Chanel absolutely used her star power back then. The legwork was frustrating but satisfying. Now excuse me while I watch that 2005 Versace show again!
