Model who went viral after doing a runway walk at an OPEN-CASKET viewing defends her tribute, saying it’s what the late designer wanted
- Erica L. Carrington paid homage to Vernest Moore at his viewing on Friday
- She strutted up to his open casket in one of his Ve’Moore Couture designs
- The model faced backlash over her walk, but she explained it was a tribute
A model who did a runway walk at her friend’s open-casket viewing has defended her high-fashion tribute to the late designer after facing backlash over the viral footage.
Erica L. Carrington paid homage to Vernest Moore by strutting her stuff in one of his silver Ve’Moore Couture designs at the Newark Museum of Art in New Jersey on November 10.
The ‘red carpet viewing’ was one of three events honoring Moore, who passed away on October, 22, a few weeks after his 62nd birthday.
‘I think we sent Vernest off the way that he would have liked, and that’s really all that matters,’ Carrington explained on TMZ Live.
Erica L. Carrington paid homage to late designer Vernest Moore by doing a runway walk at his ‘red carpet viewing’ at the Newark Museum of Art in New Jersey on November 10
The model strutted down the red carpet and blew Moore a kiss before striking a pose in front of his open casket
Carrington (pictured with Moore) shared the footage on Instagram, saying her final walk for him was one of the ‘most challenging things’ she has had to do
She shared a video of her catwalk at the viewing on Instagram with a heartfelt caption about what the moment meant to her, saying it was one of the ‘most challenging things’ she has had to do.
‘I CAN’T BELIEVE this would be my final walk for you, so I WON’T! From now on…even if I’m not walking FOR YOU, I’ll be walking WITH YOU, because I know you’ll ALWAYS be with me,’ she wrote to Moore.
The footage shows Carrington modeling a beaded headdress and a long-sleeve silver gown designed by Moore as she walked into the viewing.
She struck a pose before strutting down the stairs and onto the red carpet toward Moore’s open casket.
Carrington blew her friend a kiss, struck one last pose, and then walked to her seat.
The video went viral and was posted on Twitter, formerly X, where viewers were stunned to see her strutting up to an open casket.
‘I guarantee you can’t guess how this video ends,’ one person wrote.
‘Baby I thought this was a fashion show… WHAT,’ another added.
A post shared by Erica L. Carrington (@mrs_am_erica)
The viewing was one of three events honoring Moore, who passed away on October, 22, a few weeks after his 62nd birthday
Carrington dazzled in one of Moore’s silver Ve’Moore Couture gowns and a beaded headdress
Carrington explained on TMZ Live that Moore had planned the ‘three-day celebration’ of his life with a friend before his passing
‘My jaw dropped when I saw the coffin,’ someone else agreed.
Others defended Carrington’s runway walk, insisting that the sendoff was likely what the designer had wanted.
‘Her explanation on Instagram says it’s a tribute to him because he was a designer,’ one person noted. ‘I’m guessing he requested to be celebrated this way.’
Another agreed: ‘They honored his wishes…’
‘Honestly better than some of these other send offs I’ve seen. Assuming he was the designer,’ someone else responded.
‘I think we sent Vernest off the way that he would have liked, and that’s really all that matters,’ she said
Carrington faced backlash for her runway walk, but she confirmed that attendees at the viewing understood that it was a tribute and what Moore would have wanted
Carrington explained on TMZ Live that Moore had planned the ‘three-day celebration’ of his life with a friend before his passing.
She also confirmed that attendees at the viewing understood her catwalk was a tribute and what Moore would have wanted.
‘I still get emotional thinking about it and watching the video because I shared some of his last moments with him not even knowing that they were his last moments,’ she said. ‘So that just tells you what type of person he was.’
Carrington admitted that she was hyperventilating before she walked into the viewing, but she could hear Moore telling her she needed to ‘pull it together.’
‘So that’s what I tried to do for him, and it was an honor to be able to do that,’ the model said.
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