Jeremy Scott is known for filling his Moschino runway with surprises, and this season the designer provided model fans with an extra-special treat: the return of Omahyra Mota. Born in the Dominican Republic and bred in Queens, New York, Mota was one of the most recognizable faces on the modeling scene during the early aughts. Her androgynous good looks and tough-girl attitude made her stand out amid scores of pretty but unmemorable models. With her brand of sexy, brashly confident beauty, Mota conquered the industry, becoming one of its original bad girls. Appearing alongside Naomi Campbell in Jay Z’s “Change Clothes” video and walking for designers Tom Ford, Jean Paul Gaultier, and John Galliano, Mota left an indelible mark.
She’s an actress, too, and applied a well-honed instinct for theatricality to the bombastic shows of the ’00s, thus providing fashion with more than a few iconic moments. Though Mota occasionally graces the catwalk in her hometown of New York—until today, her last fashion month appearance was for Creatures of the Wind back in 2014—Europe’s runways are her true industry domain. Mota’s comeback at Moschino today is another reminder of the shows where her star power shone bright. Take a look at 10 of her best.
