Ashley Graham and three fellow models are opening up about the struggles they endured as curvy women in fashion, and their journey to confidence in an industry that, until recently, didn’t accept body diversity.
Accompanied by fellow plus-size stars Jordyn Woods, Molly Constable and Tabria Majors, 29-year-old Ashley presented looks from her collaboration with Addition Elle during New York Fashion Week, and spoke to Cosmopolitan magazine backstage.
The models shared the rude comments they still face at work, dished on the advice they’d give to younger women, and on what they think the fashion industry needs to change.
Fierce: Ashley Graham, 29, presented looks from her collaboration with Addition Elle during fashion week, and spoke to Cosmopolitan magazine backstage with fellow curvy models
Beautiful at any size: Jordyn Woods (left) and Molly Constable joined Ashley in discussing the struggles they endured as curvy women in fashion
Rude: Tabria Majors said people in the industry compare her to a whaler and always assume she lives a sedentary life
Although Ashley has greatly helped to bring curvy women into the fashion industry, not being afraid of speaking up about her experiences, and becoming the first plus-sized model to be featured on the coveted cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue, she’s still faces hardships.
‘I’m the token curvy girl for a lot of things, still to this day,’ said Ashley.
She recalled being 18 and being told she had to change herself when she started gaining weight shortly after moving to New York City to pursue her modeling dreams.
‘It’s time for you to put the Snickers down,’ she said an agent told her, adding that she wouldn’t be able to keep on modeling if she got any bigger.
As a newcomer in the fashion industry, Kylie Jenner’s best friend Jordyn, 19, talked about facing similar comments, saying she’s been in shoots where she’s the only curvy model and has had people doubt that she’s really one of the models.
Paving the way: Ashley has greatly helped bring curvy women into the fashion industry, but says she still is the ‘token curvy girl’ a lot of times
Overcoming difficulties: The four models agreed that they’ve been told they should change the way they look and lose weight (pictured left, Tabria, and rightm Molly)
Ouch: Jordyn said people constantly leave her social media comments telling her ‘her boobs are saggy’ and she should lose weight
She added that constantly gets rude comments on social media telling her ‘her boobs are saggy’ and that she should lose weight.
Tabria and Molly echoed these statements about the negative attitudes towards curvy women of many in the fashion industry.
‘I have had make-up artists throw jabs at me for having stretch marks and them having to cover them up,’ said Molly.
Tabria added that people always assume she lives a sedentary life: ‘They compare me to like, being the size of a whale, and being incredibly out of shape and sitting in my couch, maybe that’s their life, but not mine.’
But despite the uneven playing field, these four models have found success in the industry and confidence in their bodies.
Still a long way to go: Ashley said there are things the fashion industry needs to work on, like including more curvy models in campaigns
Confident: ‘I’m not like anyone else, and no one else is like me, and that’s powerful,’ said Jordyn (pictured with Ashley and Addition Elle’s Roslyn Griner and Tamara Nakonechny)
‘I wasn’t always confident or this confident,’ said Jordyn. ‘But I realized, you know what? I’m not like anyone else, and no one else is like me, and that’s powerful. And I have to own that.’
‘Your weight is not important,’ Molly said she has learned. ‘It’s how you act toward people and feel on the inside.’
They also had some advice for young women, and said that there are still many changes the fashion industry should make, like taking more risks and including more curvy women in campaigns.
‘You’re never going to be able to compare yourself to anybody in media and feel good about yourself,’ Ashley advised. ‘The moment that you look in the mirror and have that one-on-one conversation with yourself and say, “I love you, and you are worth it” then that’s really what changes your heart.”