Madison Burgess
It’s now been over a week since the Met Gala - but the ‘girl with the golden legs’ is still dominating the headlines.
The prestigious star-studded fashion event took place in New York City on 4 May and saw an array of celebrities don their most creative looks for the ‘fashion is art’ theme.
And among A-listers like Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Bad Bunny, and Sabrina Carpenter, was American model Lauren Wasser, also known as fashion’s ‘girl with the golden legs’.
The 38-year-old sported a stunning golden Prabal Gurung suit made up of an open blazer and matching knee-length shorts, which complemented her signature gold prosthetic legs.
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The high-profile appearance means some people are just now learning the model’s heartbreaking but resilient backstory.
Lauren’s life changed forever when she became a double amputee at age 24, after losing both of her legs to Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) caused by a tampon in 2012.
Since her terrifying near-death experience, she’s been warning women about the potential risks associated with tampons and advocating for more transparency regarding period products.
Toxic shock syndrome is a rare but life-threatening condition caused by an infection. As per the NHS, it can happen when using a tampon or menstrual cup, or from an infected wound.
Although the model had changed her tampon multiple times the day she got sick, she still suffered from a heart attack and developed gangrene.
She previously wrote on Instagram: "All this damage was caused by a tampon I was using correctly."
Wasser told Vestal magazine: “It was the darkest moment of my life. I couldn’t believe it happened and happened so fast.”
She added, “My life changed forever within a few minutes, and the damage done was already irreversible. The recovery seemed like it was impossible.”
Going into details of the horrific experience on The Diary Of a CEO podcast back in 2023, she said: "I was on my period. It was super heavy. I guess I must have passed out. They found me face down on my bedroom floor. I was 10 minutes from death."
"My feet were turning black so when I finally woke up they needed to amputate my right leg or I was going to die. They're telling me that we cannot give you any pain medication. I felt every single thing that was done to me."
She was found unresponsive at home, having suffered a fever of almost 42 °C, with her kidneys failing.
Wasser told Vogue: "I had had two heart attacks and was given just a one per cent chance of survival. When I came round a week-and-a-half later, after being placed on life support, I was pumped full of fluid, I weighed 200 pounds, my hair was so matted that my head had been shaved, and my legs were black with gangrene.
"It was only when I overheard a nurse saying they would need to amputate a young woman that I realised she was talking about me.”
Wasser initially had her right leg amputated as a result of complications from toxic shock syndrome in 2012 and later had her left leg amputated in 2018 because of lasting damage.
The model realised that prosthetics were her 'route to a more independent life,' however, seeing the 'stiff, medical-looking limbs that were available,' she said: "I struggled to see how I would make them me."
Wasser said: "To move forward, I knew I had to create something that fit with my identity. I have always loved gold, so I decided to make my legs a jewellery piece, to consciously make something that people look at and are fascinated by. The result is, I believe, something close to art."
As outlined by the NHS, Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) can come on quickly.
Symptoms include:
You should get help from NHS 111 if you think you might have toxic shock syndrome and you have any of these symptoms: