Inside Paris’s Palais de Tokyo, models are walking down Isabel Marant’s fall/winter 2026 runway in wedge-heeled boots and lurex mesh at 8:30 p.m.—but when you have a 3 p.m. call time, some have spent hours backstage waiting. So how does one pass the time?
First, there is the soothing skin prep station with iS Clinical (fashion’s favorite skin-care line) conducted by the husband and wife duo M.A.S.C. Studios, known for their lymphatic drainage massage. It’s something models look forward to after a month of long flights and late nights, and a moment those arriving directly from Schiaparelli’s Louvre runway may sadly miss. Next, makeup artist Diane Kendal and her team top glowing complexions with “punky” straight eyeliner, and down the rows of vanity mirrors hairstylist Damien Boissinot is texturizing lengths into ’80s waves. Factor in the manicures, final fittings, and photos required ahead of the catwalk, and it all adds up to a ton of downtime waiting for your name to be called. To fill the space, models are turning away from doomscrolling (there’s enough doom and gloom in the news right now) and toward novels.
“We love to read,” Mona Tougaard tells Vogue backstage while holding a copy of Layla by Colleen Hoover as she and Alex Consani are ushered toward the runway. “Everyone should be reading!” Consani calls out over her shoulder. “It’s 2026, come on, guys.” Nearby, Ella Dalton stares into a copy of Normal People by Sally Rooney, and Mahi Kabra lounges by the hair-washing sinks holding A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. “I walked Acne Studios yesterday, I did Rabanne this morning, I’m at Isabel Marant right now, and tomorrow I’m doing Givenchy,” says Kabra. “I’ll bring it everywhere, all the castings, all the fittings, all the shows backstage, everywhere. I love it.”
Even those traveling light, like Avishag Amir, admit to being influenced. The model says the boys walking Jacquemus fully sold her on The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. “I’ve never read that book, and now I want to read it so badly,” Amir admits with a laugh. She’s ready for Vogue’s official backstage book club: “Just give me examples of what to read and I will start.”
Here, fashion month’s favorite models tell Vogue Beauty what—and why—they’re reading backstage this season.
Mahi Kabra reading A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
“My mom is a huge bookworm, so she inspired me growing up. I’ve always been a bookworm, and when I started modeling I realized there’s so much waiting around that goes on, and I always need to feel productive and just have something to do. So a book is like the perfect cure. I started A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara probably just a week or two ago. It’s so good, I’m halfway through—that’s 400 pages! It is so incredibly well written and it’s funny because so many people are coming up to me and warning me about it. They’re like, Oh my gosh, you’re in for a ride with this one, but I can’t stop reading it.”
Mona Tougaard reading Layla by Colleen Hoover
“I’m reading Layla by Colleen Hoover, and it’s so captivating right away. And I’m very impatient, so it’s good for people who are impatient. It’s hard to do it while you’re backstage because you are getting pulled left and right, and I also want to read and pay attention, because it’s important—every page is important. Reading during hair is the best time, 100%.”
Lulu Tenney reading Sex and Rage by Eve Babitz
“I brought a new book because I finished my other one, Me Talk Pretty Someday by David Sedaris. I have it in my bag today, it’s Sex and Rage by Eve Babitz. I read two pages at the last show, and then I got interrupted because I had to get dressed or something, but that’s the book I’m reading. Or I’m trying to start reading. I will read it, just maybe when I’m less busy, when I have a second.
Hair is the best place to do the reading because the dryers drown out any noise outside, and no one’s making you move your eyes. I’m definitely trying to escape doomscrolling—I feel like during Fashion Week, you end up going on Instagram to check your shows and stay updated on them. I’ve been listening to a playlist that my friend made of chants and meditative songs, and when you’re listening to that, you don’t really want to be doomscrolling, you want to be just spacing out and thinking, so it kind of helps to have your book with you.”
Mathilda Gvarliani reading Pulp by Charles Bukowski
“I’m reading Pulp by Charles Bukowski on my iPad. It’s very important because it’s some sort of meditation for me, I would say. It’s like a healthy form of dopamine production. It’s dopamine, yeah, but it’s healthy, it’s not like scrolling. You know how your brain doesn’t react very well to scrolling? Also, it’s a great stimulation to read. It’s slower—it’s almost like green tea instead of coffee.”
Mora Ponte reading Crown of Midnight by Sara J. Maas
“I’m from Argentina, I’ve been here for a month now, it’s my first season ever here in Paris and first show ever, so it’s kind of crazy. My family in Argentina, they’re, like, screaming, and I feel like I am dreaming, truly. I don’t know many people here because it is my first show, and I really need to disconnect sometimes. I started reading Crown of Midnight by Sara J. Maas this week—it’s really good. I’m always reading Sarah J Maas; she’s the best. This is the second book of the series, and I also read the series ACOTAR, which is the first one, and I think it’s my top two from the fantasy genre.”
Sam Saba listening to Wayward Pines by Blake Crouch
“So I’m listening to Wayward Pines. It’s sci-fi, and I’m still only halfway through, and I’m so confused as to what’s happening because you can’t tell if the guy’s going crazy or if he’s trapped somewhere. It’s all over the place, but it’s definitely been keeping my mind busy while we have long hours at castings and at shows. It’s been really good. I’m so impatient too. I feel like I’ve really had to learn patience. The doomscroll before a show isn’t great, I mean, it’s gonna give you anxiety. If I am on my phone, I try to be more proactive instead of being on social media: Maybe I’m on Vogue Runway looking at what shows happen, or maybe I’m on Pinterest building mood boards for myself. I feel like there are better ways to scroll and have fun on your phone without it being so toxic.”
Gaye Serigne reading How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
“I’m reading a book about communication, about how you interact with people, and how you get close to them, how to treat the other person, and make them your friend. In Italian, it’s Come trattare gli altri e farseli amici. In English, it’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. I’ve never been a good talker, so this year I was like, I will do anything to improve. I found this amazing book and it’s helping me a lot. Actually, it’s my second time reading it, because the guy who wrote the book said that you need to read it at least two times to understand it very well. I had it during the Ferrari show in Milan, and now we are here. For me, backstage is sometimes really stressful, you know, a lot of movement, so I like to escape a little bit from reality by reading because I’m in fashion, I’m doing fashion, and if I open my Instagram, I see fashion. Sometimes I need to be somewhere else in my mind. I’m not able to read when they do skin prep and massage, it’s just so relaxing, but I can when I have my hair and makeup done. Now we have three hours before the show starts, so what am I going to do in these three hours? I can’t just keep scrolling.”
Marta Wieczorek reading The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool that Millions of People Can’t Stop Talking About by Mel Robbins
“Okay, so I’m reading Let Them, the famous book. I’ve read this one the entire fashion month. I started it in New York at Ralph Lauren; the show was so good, it’s so my vibe, and in Paris right now, I’m at Isabel Marant, which is very important for me because last season I debuted with Isabel Marant, so I’m super excited. Backstage, when we do the makeup and hair, I can’t focus. So when I’m done with my makeup and hair, I’m going to the fitting room and reading the book. I hate scrolling. Actually, I have on my phone an application for my Instagram so that when I click there, it says “Take a breath,” and then I can choose if I want to scroll or not.”
Lennon Sorrenti reading The Greek and Roman Myths: A Guide to the Classical Stories by Philip Matyszak
“I’m reading The Magus by John Fowles right now, which is a big book. It’s set on a Greek island in the ’50s, but they mention a lot of stuff on Greek mythology, so I thought it would be a good idea to look back on some of the classic myths and get my basics down. So I’m reading The Greek and Roman Myths: A Guide to the Classical Stories. Creatively, it’s nice to have something new to give you inspiration. I love writing, and when I’m not reading anything at the moment or watching any good film, then I feel creatively a bit stunted because I don’t have inspiration from things around me.
I got The Greek and Roman Myths this weekend, because it’s hard to carry around something thick all the time, especially in the winter with all your layers, and then on top of it a huge book, you end up feeling quite heavy walking around. I’m able to read more in hair, because in makeup, of course, someone’s touching your face and in front of your eyes, so mostly it’s going to be when your hair is getting done and you don’t have your nails getting done. I already get quite overwhelmed when someone’s touching my face, so it’s not for that moment. I’m not going to force myself to try and get in it every single time that I can because it’s hard, especially with the blow dryers by your ears and everything, but when you have a free moment, it’s nice to zone out and get into your story.”
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