Is that cellulite on Elle Macpherson’s thighs? Even ‘The Body’ can’t escape the ageing process at Jaguar launch

Posted by lena on Jul 13, 2009 in News | 0 comments

So extraordinary and enviable is her physique, that Elle Macpherson is known as The Body.
Yet at the grand old age of 45, positively ancient in supermodel terms, she appears to be showing the first signs of wear and tear.
Photographed as she attended a glamorous party to launch a new Jaguar car at the Saatchi Gallery in West London, Miss Macpherson wore a short gold dress which showed off her legs fabulously.
On closer inspection, the knee and thigh on the model’s right leg appear to be suffering from the dreaded appearance of sagging loose skin.
The condition, often called ‘creping’ by cosmetic surgeons, is the result of nothing more than the aging of the skin making it less firm and taut.
The effect is particularly prevalent on people who have little fat on their bodies and who have spent much of their lives in sunnier climes, which happens to be the case with Miss Macpherson.
Unfortunately, the fact that the light source is coming from the side rather than from a camera flashbulb in front of her in this picture only appears to exaggerate the effect.
Surgeons who analysed this picture added that the effect is also apparently made worse since the photograph captures the exact moment when the skin on her right thigh is moving over the leg muscle as the weight is transferred from her left to her right leg.
Miss Macpherson, who has two children, is one of the most successful supermodels of her generation and among the very few who have been able to sustain a career while others have fallen by the wayside.
Cosmetic surgeon Alex Karidis said: ‘It’s an unfortunate picture in that it appears to have captured the exact moment during her walking towards camera when the weight is transferring onto the right leg.
‘It is the moment of impact when the skin is travelling over the leg muscle.
‘You probably would not notice the effect on a very young individual but only because the skin quality would be much better.
‘Elle is 45 and has presumably had a lot of sun over the years. She has a lot of freckles and the skin quality has obviously reduced with age.
‘It just goes to show that age gets the better of everyone.
‘The effect – which you can call creping – does happen with age and especially when someone has lived in the sun a lot in California and Australia. Women’s skin also tends to age a little earlier than men’s skin.
‘Creping is also more common in skinnier people. Fat tends to pad out the skin and supports it more.
‘If you have a very low body mass index like Elle does then basically you have skin travelling over muscle with no fat in between.
‘Whereas if she was slightly plumper, she would not have the creping phenomenon as much.’
Cosmetic surgeon Riccardo Frati suggested such a phenomenon was usually associated with dramatic weight loss in patients who has had too much liposuction but that it could have also been the result of sun damage.
There is no suggestion that Miss Macpherson, who has never been overweight, has had liposuction on her legs.
The unfortunate picture was taken last night as the supermodel helped to launch the latest Jaguar.
She wore a glittering ?6,560 Herve Leger bandage dress teamed with a pair of vertiginous Christian Louboutin heels.
While the ensemble was undoubtedly a stunning combination the micro mini and gold sequins could be seen as a rather mutton-dressed-as-lamb look for the forty-five year old.
The Jaguar XJ is the company’s first new model for seven years and was launched last night at London’s Saatchi Gallery.
Elle paraded around on stage with the compere of the evening, U.S. talkshow host Jay Leno, and even expressed an interest in buying the luxury limousine.
If she were to snap up the car, released in showrooms in the New Year, then it would set her back a staggering ?88,000.
However, considering her efforts last night, perhaps the makers might be persuaded to give her one as a gift, or at least get her a discount.
Elle was joined by a host of other stars and was pictured posing with her designer friend Matthew Williamson.
Others on the VIP list included Sophie Ellis-Bextor and her husband Richard Jones from the band The Feeling.
The pair took to the decks and played a DJ set at the event. Sophie looked in great shape, having given birth to her second son, Kit, in February.
Sir Trevor McDonald, TV journalist Eamon Holmes, sports journalist Andrew Castle and members of Spandau Ballet – including lead singer Tony Hadley – and former Eastenders stars Shane Ritchie were among other guests.
Unveiling the car, host Leno said he had been a fan of the Marque since childhood and was pleased that the latest XJ model had a sporty new look that would appeal to a younger generation.
source: dailymail.co.uk