Elena Velez put a convicted con artist on the NYFW runway — ankle monitor and all

Elena Velez, an emerging American designer known for provocative deconstructed womenswear, cast convicted fraudster Anna Sorokin to open her Fall/Winter 2025 show at New York Fashion Week on February 9, 2025. Sorokin wore a brown leather pencil skirt dress with her court-ordered ankle monitor visible, walking the runway in a collection themed 'Leech.' The show was set in a former boiler room reimagined as a digital ocean.

The decision generated immediate backlash. Sorokin was convicted in 2019 on 12 charges including attempted first-degree larceny for defrauding banks and individuals while posing as a German heiress. Critics argued the brand was glamorizing a criminal — the ankle monitor, a symbol of her house arrest, was treated as a fashion accessory. The Daily Caller called the spectacle 'a disgusting display.' Fashion critics questioned why a brand marketing 'raw authenticity' chose a convicted con artist as its face.

The controversy dominated coverage of the show, overshadowing the collection. What could have been a breakout moment for a rising designer became a debate about whether crime can be rebranded as fashion.