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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Fashion on upward curve: Bigger is beautiful now

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For years, images of impossibly slim and blemish-free women have filled fashion magazines, billboards and television screens.


Now, 26-year-old British model Iskra Lawrence is waging war on unattainable beauty standards in the fashion world.


She is among a growing number of plus-size models finding fame and calling themselves body activists, promoting health and wellbeing. She also refuses to allow clients to photoshop any of her images.


“The whole concept of photoshop is an illusion,” Lawrence says.


“They’re not flaws. They’re part of your body.”


In Britain, 57 per cent of women have an above average body mass index. In the United States, that figure rises to 62 per cent, and the average American woman is a size 14-16.


Lawrence averages a US size 10 to 12, yet for years was told she was too fat to model.


But change is afoot. Ashley Graham, who last year became the first ‘curve’ model on the cover of the annual ‘Swimsuit Issue’ of magazine ‘Sports Illustrated’, is on the cusp of becoming a household name.


In February, she became the first curve model to walk for Michael Kors at Fashion Week. This season, she hosted a fashion awards night and Sunday night walked again for Prabal Gurung in a show with Gigi Hadid.


It’s not just models. Popular culture is suddenly full of strong women proud of their curves from singers Adele and Beyonce to comedians Amy Schumer and Melissa McCarthy, and tennis star Serena Williams.


Following repeated scandals about anorexia, French holding companies LVMH and Kering, which own dozens of top labels from Christian Dior to Saint Laurent, just days ago pledged to ban size zero models from their advertising and catwalk shows.


Now based in New York, Lawrence has taken her message to schools in Britain and US colleges to promote good physical, emotional and mental health.


At least 30 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder in the United States, according to The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.


“Every day on social media, I get these DMs from girls saying I’ve saved their lives from eating disorders or suicidal thoughts. It’s a wonderful, positive movement,” Lawrence says.


Yet if seeing curvier models is more common, it is still relatively rare — particularly in high fashion, where few of the most prestigious labels adequately cater to the plus-size market. — AFP


Jennie Matthew


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