This Plus-Size Model Posted Emotional Message To Teen Self About Body Image
If you're a model, size is everything. Whether you're a Kate Moss-sized waif in a slip dress or a plus-size model in Lane Bryant lingerie, your body defines your career.
That's a message never more clear than during Fashion Week, whether it's in New York, Paris or Milan. Frighteningly thin, tall women stomp the runway like human clothes hangers, killing themselves (sometimes literally) to fit into an industry that doesn't accept body fat.
On designer Christian Siriano's runway, however, the game has changed.
During his spring 2017 clothing presentation, the former Project Runway contestant brought out five plus-size models alongside the “straight size” models.
The ladies all wore his ready-to-buy collection, modeling long gown and bodycon numbers no designer would have dared put on a curvy lady five years ago.
The audience was touched — fans took to Instagram, posting thanks by the dozen to Siriano for showcasing women in many sizes — but, in a strange twist, so were the models.
Swedish model Sabina Karlsson was one of the curvy women who walked in Siriano's show, and she wasted no time sharing how his creative choice affected her.
In an emotional Instagram post, Karlsson wrote,
When I started of as a straight size model (US size 4) I thought that the only way to be beautiful was to be skinny. I was never naturally that size. I had to work out up to 3 times a day in order to maintain those measurements. It was a struggle. Yesterday I walked for Christian Siriano @csiriano in a gorgeous body conscious dress and I loved it!! I wish that someone would've told 17 year old Sabina that one day you'll appreciate the body you're suppose to have. Not once yesterday did it cross my mind that I wasn't beautiful - I was proud. This is a milestone for me. So people, try to love yourself more - Be Confident & Be You.
Karlsson wasn't the only model to voice an opinion, either. IMG model Alessandra Garcia Lorido, who also walked the Siriano show, posted her own photo.
She said,
Curves on the runway baby, right where they're supposed to be! The future is now people!
While this isn't Siriano's first foray into dressing plus-size women — he famously made a red carpet gown for “Ghostbusters” star Leslie Jones after she tweeted about not being able to get anyone to dress her — including women of several sizes in Fashion Week is a new step.
The move earned him an effusive write-up in The New York Times, with a headline proclaiming “the stars align for Christian Siriano." The designer seems to have found an unlikely fan base in the body positivity community.
