Jetting from New York to London, then to Milan and finally heading to Paris, all over the course of a month, sounds like a glamorous—if grueling—job. Just ask any major model, who runs from runway show to runway show, sandwiched between photoshoots, dinners and after-parties, and posts all the requisite Instagrams to prove it all. But it’s also a great time for a new face to gain exposure and gather a healthy following of fans.
This season, Instagram (META) gathered intel on all the girls (plus one guy) who gained the highest percentage of followers during Fashion Month, which is defined as the span of time between September 6 and October 3. Surprisingly, there’s not a Hadid among the bunch.
Topping the list was Teddy Quinlivan, who came out as transgender to the public, on September 13, via an article on CNN. Discovered by Louis Vuitton‘s Nicolas Ghesquière two years ago, her career has been on the ascent ever since. This season alone, Quinlivan walked in the Vuitton show, in addition to Miu Miu, Chloé, Dries van Noten, Dior, Versace, Gucci, Marc Jacobs, Oscar de la Renta, Monse, Tory Burch and so on. So while her coming out might have sparked an influx of new followers, Quinlivan’s breathtaking season walking in the top shows certainly helped, too.
Similarly, curvy model Paloma Elsesser made headlines when she posed nude on billboards for Glossier‘s latest launch, an oil-based body wash and body cream. She posted about the experience in a poignant Instagram post, writing: “Look, I’ve never done nude before. I cried 3 times before this shoot. I cried because I still feel scared, paralyzed by insecurity at times, and exhausted by an unfettered vulnerability that I want to present to the world.” She also walked in Eckhaus Latta‘s body and age positive runway show, in early September.
But don’t simply assume that all of the successful females on this Instagram list fit into the millennial age bracket. OG supers Carla Bruni, Helena Christensen and Claudia Schiffer were all included, probably due to their appearance in that unforgettable Versace finale. But these ageless beauties weren’t just walking the runway; Bruni was busy promoting her latest album, French Touch, and Schiffer was embarking on a press tour for her Rizzoli tome and her Aquazzura shoe collaboration. Noticeably missing from the list of supers was Cindy Crawford, though her model offspring Kaia and Presley Gerber both made the list, at least making her a proud mother.
Click through to see the rest of the models who won Instagram this Fashion Month.