Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman has proven her abilities as a role model time and time again – both on and off the mat – and now she is hoping to once again inspire and empower young women by posing in an unretouched lingerie campaign for body-positive brand Aerie.
The 23-year-old, who gave a powerful testimony at the trial of pedophile doctor Larry Nassar just days ago, joins long-time Aerie ambassador Iskra Lawrence in the campaign, which see the duo modeling the brand’s latest collection alongside fellow AerieREAL role models Rachel Platten and Yara Shahidi.
In the images, Aly puts on a confident display as she models everything from lacy feminine bralettes to high-waisted briefs and denim jackets, proudly putting her natural athletic physique on show in the Photoshop-free campaign.
Advocate: Aly Raisman is proudly showing off her athletic frame in a new body-positive campaign for Aerie
Face of the brand: The 23-year-old Olympic gymnast and newly minted AerieREAL Role Model stars in the company’s latest shoot in a pale pink bralette
Collection: As part of the upcoming spring campaign, Aly modeled everything from feminine bralettes to high-waisted briefs while posing alongside an inspiring cast of women
Modeling: Aly wore her hair in a bouncy ponytail on top of her head, and one shot shows her on a cozy-looking bed topped with a cream comforter
Strong: Last Friday, Aly read a powerful victim impact statement at the trial of pedophile doctor Larry Nassar, who was sentenced to 175 years in jail on Wednesday
In one of the pictures, Aly poses with her hands on her waist while wearing a pale pink bralette featuring lace trim and matching, high-waisted briefs.
Her hair is in a bouncy ponytail on top of her head, and she is standing in front of a cozy-looking bed topped with a cream comforter.
Another image shows Aly modeling a pale blue, lace bralette and striped cotton briefs. A denim jacket is hanging off of her arms, and she is tugging at one of the curls hanging from her ponytail.
As the first AerieREAL Role Model, Iskra paved the way for Aly, Yara, and Rachel, who were all chosen to represent the brand because of their influential voices, unique stories, and self-made success.
‘Yara, Aly, Rachel, and Iskra truly embody AerieREAL and what it means to be strong, confident, and happy in your own skin,’ said Jennifer Foyle, Aerie Global Brand President.
Pioneer: Iskra Lawrence, the first AerieREAL Role Model, also posed for the campaign
Smiling: The British model posed in a comfy-looking sweater with her hair in a high ponytail
Spreading the word: Iskra has been hard at work to promote body positivity with the brand
Team: Singer Rachel Platten and actress Yara Shahidi joined Iskra and Aly in the campaign and will also serve as AerieREAL ambassadors
‘At Aerie, we believe in authentic, real beauty and never airbrush our models. Now, more than ever, we want to encourage women everywhere to feel empowered to embrace their own unique qualities and beautiful REAL selves.’
Aly, who captained the last two U.S. Olympic champion gymnastics teams, has become a vocal advocate for body positivity and sexual assault awareness.
The Olympian publicly revealed in November that she had been sexually abused by former Team USA doctor Larry Nassar under the guise of treating her injuries, sharing her story in her new memoir, Fierce. Last week, she shared a powerful testimony during the ex-doctor’s trial, before he was sentenced to up to 175 years behind bars.
Aly told WWD in an interview published today that she decided to testify during the trial at the last minute, after initially thinking she wouldn’t be able to do it.
‘I was watching everything over the news and said I didn’t want to go. Just seeing his face was traumatizing and I felt like it wasn’t going to be the best thing for me,’ she said. ‘But then I watched Kyle Stephens and her quote, “Little girls don’t stay little forever. They grow into strong women that return to destroy your world,” really touched me. I watched so many brave young women and I called my mom and said I have to be there.’
While delivering her powerful victim impact statement, Aly said she ‘blocked everything out’, as she does while competing.
‘When I spoke he looked at me the whole time, which was shocking,’ she said, ‘When other girls spoke he had different reactions, so I wasn’t expecting that. Right after my speech I felt so sick. I was so exhausted and had a horrible headache and as soon as I didn’t have to be strong anymore, I wasn’t. I’m so emotionally drained, even today.’
Aly also told the Today show she forgot people were watching her as she spoke.
‘I forgot the media was over there. I forgot that Larry was right there,’ she said.
‘I just spoke and I felt like I really had to be strong, I feel a responsibility. But after I will be honest, I was sick, I almost passed out.’
She also described how the doctor’s behavior in court surprised her, adding: ‘He actually looked at me the whole entire time. Every time I made eye contact with him, and even when I stared at him, he looked me in the eye the whole entire time. It was crazy. I did not expect that at all.’
The Olympian explained that she hasn’t seen the doctor in person since she was at a training camp in 2015, but looked at photos of him online to prepare herself before facing him in court.
‘I didn’t know how I’d feel,’ she added. ‘But when I walked in there being with this army of survivors, and even—I didn’t know most of these girls and these women, but I just felt an instant connection.’
Leader: Iskra paved the way for Aly, Yara, and Rachel, who were all chosen to represent the brand because of their influential voices, unique stories, and self-made success
Shape: Each of the four women represents a unique body type in the latest campaign
Duo: Iskra and Yara posed together in black leggings and white tops for the Aerie shoot
Aly, who has spoken in the past about being body-shamed, opened up about how gymnastics forces young athletes to ‘pick [their] body apart’, with added pressures from society and social media.
‘I see girls start gymnastics when they are two years old, and you overhear these young girls starting to talk about their bodies earlier and earlier. They are so aware of how they look,’ the gymnast told WWD. ‘Every commercial is about losing weight. It’s hard to put into words how it feels when I hear an eight-year-old say her legs are too big. It makes me want to work with Aerie more so these young girls don’t look at these retouched ads and think it’s real.’
Back in November, Iskra, who has just launched a new fragrance with Aerie, announced Aly as the latest face of Aerie at the Glamour Women of the Year Summit.
At the event, Aly gave a powerful speech about what it means to her to work with a brand that is encouraging women to stay true to themselves.
She admitted that she was told as a young girl that ‘being an athlete wasn’t cool because muscles weren’t seen as being girly.’
‘At recess I would play kickball with the boys in my class and they would stare and laugh at my muscles, saying they were disgusting and I looked like I was on steroids,’ she continued.
‘They began calling me “Roids,” saying there was no way a girl could ever be that strong without taking illegal drugs. It took me a long time to learn to love my arms and my muscles. I was so embarrassed and I thought that every person I met would judge me. How wrong is that?’
Aly admitted that she looks back and regrets worrying so much about what the boys in her class thought of her.
‘Our society is constantly telling us that we aren’t good enough, pretty enough, skinny enough,’ she said. ‘I love that Aerie is breaking these stereotypes for women, and reminding everyone that staying true to yourself is most important.
‘I want to help teach young boys and girls to respect each other, and that shaming one another is never ever okay.’
Outfit: Rachel modeled a blue bra and light pink pajama bottoms during the photoshoot
Ensemble: Yara donned a white off-the-shoulder top with a tie-dye touch underneath
Looking comfy: Rachel also modeled a white T-shirt tied high on the waist, along with black and white briefs