Australian sporting icon Mary Fowler is set to be the first professional soccer player to walk the runway at Paris Fashion Week, in the L’Oréal Paris Le Défilé show on September 29.
The runway will be held in front of the Hotel de Ville de Paris, and will also include global icons such as Kendall Jenner, Jane Fonda, Eva Longoria, Viola Davis, Helen Mirren and Gillian Anderson.
Fowler said she is honoured to join the L’Oréal Paris family of ambassadors.
“This will be my first time walking a runway, and while it’s a little outside of my comfort zone, the opportunity to walk alongside extraordinary women in a celebration of women’s empowerment, inclusion, and sisterhood is truly inspiring.”
Mary was the first woman athlete to be named a L’Oréal Paris Brand Ambassador in Australia and New Zealand in March last year. In her time with the brand, she has been the face of local campaigns.
“Ever since I was young, I’ve loved experimenting with different looks – both with clothing and makeup,” Fowler said. “For me, beauty has always been about expressing who I am, both on and off the field. Walking in Le Défilé is a chance to show that strength, confidence, and authenticity are beautiful in every form.
“I want every young woman watching, especially in Australia, to know that you don’t have to fit a mould to be worthy and hope to inspire others to celebrate their individuality and wear their confidence with pride.”
For the eighth time since 2017, Le Défilé L’Oréal Paris will celebrate sisterhood and the synergy between beauty and fashion. The runway reinvents the iconic French national motto, ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’, with a feminist twist to mark women’s empowerment, self-worth and sisterhood: ‘Liberty, Equality, Sisterhood, You’re Worth It’.
L’Oréal Paris international ambassadors appearing in the show also include Andie Macdowell, Marie Bochet, Cindy Bruna, Ariana Greenblatt, Luma Grothe, Aja Naomi King, Aishwarya Rai and Bebe Vio Grandis. They will be joined by other women, ambassadors from different countries and influencers.
Le Défilé L’Oréal Paris will be broadcast live on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, on L’Oréal Paris websites, and on Roblox. Watch parties will be held in several international cities.
Australians can watch the replay at La Galerie L’Oreal Paris, a luxury Parisian shopping experience coming to 333 Collins Street in Melbourne’s CBD on October 4 and 5.