Why Kendall Jenner Is Absent from the Fashion Month Runway Circuit

At the end of 2017, Kendall Jenner dethroned Gisele Bündchen as the highest paid supermodel in the world. (Bündchen held the prestigious title since 2002.) The 22-year-old also became the most followed fashion figure on Instagram with over 83.7 million followers. But despite being one of the top models in the industry, Jenner has been noticeably absent from the 2018 Fashion Month scene.

Each season in New York, London, Milan and Paris, Jenner joins fellow in-demand models Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid and now, Kaia Gerber, on various high-fashion catwalks. This month, however, Jenner’s kept a low profile — and the internet immediately took notice. “Where the hell is Kendall Jenner during fashion week? I miss her so much!!!!!” one Twitter fan said, with others echoing a similar sentiment.

At New York Fashion Week, Jenner didn’t walk down any runways (she normally appears at shows like Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang and more) and only made a brief appearance at the Adidas Originals by Daniëlle Cathari presentation after she was named the newest ambassador for the brand.

Instead of standing and modeling the collection, Jenner remained behind the camera (like when she shot Kylie Jenner’s LOVE Magazine cover). She posted photos she took of the models during the presentation on Instagram.

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Post NYFW, as her fellow supermodel squad headed to London and Milan Fashion Week, Jenner decided to take “time off” to go skiing and snowboarding with her sisters in Utah.

RELATED PHOTOS: UPDATED! All of Kendall Jenner’s Killer Catwalk Moments

The star’s absence from the runway was especially evident at the Tod’s show in Milan (which both Hadid sisters walked in) since she started off her year modeling in the latest ad campaign for the brand’s Spring 2018 collection.

But sources tell PEOPLE “there’s no real reason” Jenner’s been out of the modeling spotlight.

“She had other working commitments this year,” one insider shares.

Adds a second source, “Kendall always decides last minute what she is walking in. It depends on the money and how she is feeling.”

A third source shares that Jenner needed a “little bit of a break” after her “nonstop” 2017.

“It’s nothing severe or serious.”

Paris Fashion Week kicked off Tuesday, while Jenner remains home in Los Angeles. The model was spotted leaving Nobu Malibu with an unidentified friend after a source previously told PEOPLE her relationship with Blake Griffin was “cooling off.”

Although we’ll have to wait and see if Jenner makes her return to the runway at PFW (she typically walks in shows for Balmain, Givenchy and Chanel), the model has yet to comment on her lack of runway appearances this year. However, based on past episodes of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, where Jenner revealed her ongoing struggle with anxiety, her panic attacks might be a factor.

“There’s a lot that happened this past year, starting with like, Kim’s robbery,” she said on the show. “Then I got robbed, and I had my stalkers. That’s why I don’t really like going out anymore. That’s why I don’t tweet, that’s why I don’t Instagram. That gives me anxiety, too. I swear, it’s the craziest thing.”

Last year, Jenner wanted to back out of a portion of her hectic Fashion Month schedule in Europe due to her anxiety and sleep paralysis.

“You have a week in Paris, Milan and then London,” Kris Jenner said to her daughter.

“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to do that. I can’t travel that much,” the model replied. “I’m like, scared. I’m freaking out because of these f—ing paralysis things. I’m scared to fall asleep cause it keeps happening to me. It almost feels like my heart stops.”

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