One year ago French Moroccan prostitute Zahia Dehar made headlines after it was claimed she had been paid for sex while underage by three French football stars.
While their lives were shattered by the allegations, 19-year-old Zahia's fortunes were transformed entirely.
And now, her metamorphosis from call girl turned catwalk queen is complete, as Zahia debuted her lingerie line at Palais Brongniart - the former Paris Stock Exchange - as part of Couture Fashion Week.
Taking to the runway the buxom model showcased some of her own designs, including a petal gown which left little to the imagination.
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| Zahia Dehar showcased some of her own designs, including a petal gown which left little to the imagination |
Turnaround: Former underage prostitute Zahia Dehar, now 19, launches a lingerie line at Paris couture week |
The lookbook for the range was photographed by one of the world's top designers, Chanel's maestro Karl Lagerfeld.
For a girl who just a year ago was selling her body for cash, the transformation has been dramatic.
Prostitution is legal in France where the accused men lived, but women selling sexual services must be 18 years old or over.
Zahia was just 16 when she met French footballer Franck Ribery, 28, and 17 when Karim Benzema, 23, and Sidney Govou, 31, were accused of paying an underage vice girl thousands of pounds for sex.
The men involved in the allegations faced up to three years in prison and fines of up to £40,000.
Ribery's lawyers say they have proved he could not have known Zahia was underage at the time that he paid her for sex. The allegations levelled at the other two men have never been proven. Nonetheless, the reputations of all three men were left sullied.
But while the men were disgraced, Zahia capitalised on her notoriety, turning her life around entirely.
Soon after the allegations came to light, Zahia became a lingerie model, appearing on the cover of V magazine and in Vanity Fair Italy, among other publications.
The latest venture for the former call girl is a line of 'couture' lingerie.
Indeed, such is Zahia's appeal that she has managed to enlist the services of some of the top couturiers in France to help design and craft the range.
Designers including François Tamarin, Bruno Legeron, and Jean-Pierre Ollier worked on the one-off pieces.
On her Twitter page @ZahiaOfficiel Dehar tweeted her joy at working with the esteemed Karl Lagerfeld, saying: 'Etre photographiée par Karl Lagerfeld est comme un rêve qui devient réalité...' (Being photographed by Karl Lagerfeld is like a dream come true).
The world's media has taken note too. Not only was Zahia photographed for V and Italian Vanity Fair, but mention of her lingerie line was made in the respected fashion publication WWD.
When it comes to her former life as a call girl, Zahia is discreet, maintaining she is fond of the men who faced jail for allegedly paying for her escort services, and defending them as 'gentlemen'.
'I loved them all', she says, adding that she was 'shocked' that the players had faced up to three years in prison for the alleged crime.
She said that Ribery, Benzema and Govou had all treated her 'with utter respect' and should be left alone.
© Daily Mail, London |
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