Two plus-size models are setting new standards when it comes beauty, and their messages are only full of positivity. Twenty-seven year old Ashley Graham from Lincoln, Nebraska was the first curvy model to be a part of an advertisement in the annual Swimsuit Edition of Sports Illustrated last year. The magazine soon made Graham take part in the magazine as a model and put her in the running this year for “Rookie of the Year.”
Graham has also partnered with Canadian-based retailer Addition Elle’s new Nola plus-size activewear and is collaborating on their lingerie line. The Nola activewear line is set to launch this month and will be available at Addition Elle and Lord & Taylor online, with prices ranging from $40 for a sports bra to $170 for a hooded jacket.
Her collaboration with the activewear line is perfect, as she is constantly sharing Instagram photos of herself working out, sharing that “healthy comes in all shapes and sizes.”
Graham also boxes with trainer Christopher Kadima who, “encourages women to love their shape no matter what size.” In regards to daily exercise, Graham’s workouts involve running, high-intensity, and boot camps and says that exercise is important for every type of body and that she feels weird if she doesn’t workout.
The second plus-size model who is making waves is Iskra Lawrence, named as the new spokesmodel for Aerie’s Unretouched Campaign. In 2014 American Eagle announced that it would make an effort to be using more realistic role models for teens, which involves not using Photoshop to retouch images — ultimately launching #AerieREAL.
The 25-year old British native’s Instagram is full of body-positive images and she has over 1 million followers. She also helped develop the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) Inspires Seal of Approval campaign. Lawrence says of the Aerie campaign according to self.com, “I got told I wasn’t good enough, and that I could never make it. And then Aerie told me I was beautiful because I was me. You don’t need to be retouched–because the real you is beautiful.”
