in brief: ralph lauren’s first plus size model

Last week designer label, Ralph Lauren proudly announced its first ever ‘plus size model’, Robyn Lawley.

The 23-year-old Australian will make Ralph Lauren history when her size 12 physique appears on billboards and buses as part of the latest Ralph Lauren campaign.

This move is particularly historic for Ralph, as it has previously been known to photoshop its models to unprecedented thinness.

This attempt to embrace a bigger is beautiful motto is welcomed by the industry and other models.

Ralph has emphasized this move as an example of its progressive approach to marketing. Lawley herself tells the Daily Mail, that she hopes to ‘one day make size irrelevant.

‘I genuinely want companies to take notice and start being more realistic about who their customer really is. I hope to keep breaking down those barriers.’

Lawley however admits that she hasn’t always been confident with her body, detailing her struggle with losing weight and her journey toward rediscovering food.

When she put her modeling career on hold to study in France, she stopped watching her weight, and her frame gained 40lbs.
‘I gave up trying to be a model… and fell in love with food all over again, and came back much bigger than I was. And I saw plus-size models doing well. And I decided that I wanted that.’

When she returned home to Australia she joined a plus-size agency after seeing a fellow size 14 model in ads dotting Sydney’s buses, streets and billboards. ‘I was like “She’s my size and she’s on a bus!”‘

She quickly booked a swimwear shoot, and admits that after seeing herself in a bikini, she though she looked ‘hot’.

Despite being profiled on covers with captions that read ‘The model who likes her food,’ she says she hopes to one day make size irrelevant.

‘I’ve given up caring what people think,’ she told People magazine, explaining that she maintains her body through swimming three times a week.

Since returning to a booming career in New York City, where she is frequently dubbed the model who likes to eat, Lawley has also begun authoring a blog ‘Robyn Lawley Eats’ where she regularly posts photos of meals she enjoys.

Lawley is excited about the direction the industry is taking and tells the Daily Mail, ‘you know there’s so many plus-size models in New York doing so well in the moment, and it’s only going to get better.’

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