On the “Sports Illustrated” 2016 Swimsuit Issue, the magazine did something no other magazine has done before. SI put a plus-sized model on the cover of their famous issue.
Ashley Graham, 28, is a size 16 and making headlines. Being featured in the issue is seen by some as a body positive move and others as more of a health concern.
Graham was also named “Sports Illustrated” Swimsuit Rookie.
It was reported by E! News that former supermodel Cheryl Tiegs is criticizing Graham’s cover. She said that the magazine is promoting an unhealthy weight for women by glamorizing more full-figured women. Tiegs’ opinion is that every woman’s waist should be 35 inches or smaller because that’s what Dr. Oz recommends.
Graham responded by simply letting the comments slide off her shoulders. She told E! that it is good she made those comments because that means other women think like that. It brings awareness to the issue that society needs to be more embracing of other body types. The industry needs to change.
Since the comment about Graham and “Sports Illustrated” surfaced, Tiegs took to Twitter to apologize to “anyone she offended” and wants all to live as healthy as possible.
Graham is breaking barriers and lifting women up. Her body positivity is inspiring. She walked in the 2016 Fall/Winter show for H&M Studios during Paris Fashion Week. It was not a plus-sized show either.
With her growing movement of body positivity, the model has become part of four campaigns about body acceptance. She is the face of Elle’s sportswear collection, NYDJ’s “Fit to Be” campaign and swimsuitsforall’s new #SwimSexy campaign. Graham is also going to be in Lane Bryant’s #ThisBody campaign.
Recently, Graham has launched her own clothing line with Dressbarn called Beyond by Ashley Graham. The line comes in sizes four to 24 so women of all sizes can enjoy the line.
In an interview with Refinery29, Graham stated that she wants to do a hair and makeup campaign too because no plus-sized model has done one before.