The era of anorexic models are long gone, fashion world is trying to fit into the real world instead of making clothes for imaginary barbie doll women.
Even though a lot of brands had been using plus-size models for a while, it was Ralph Lauren who surprised us the most since It seems like just yesterday that Ralph Lauren was blasted for Photoshopping a model to appear emaciated, allegedly firing her for being too fat, and then apologizing for the gaffe.
Apparently the company has moving to a new direction. Ralph Lauren has hired its first plus-size model, Robyn Lawley. She’s a stunning 23-year-old brunette who has been called a groundbreaker for appearing on the covers of French Elle and Vogue Italia. She stands at 6’2″ and wears a size 12, and was hired by Ralph Lauren in April. (The brand has since hired her for another shoot in July, and she tells The Daily Beast that she’s scheduled for a third shoot for Ralph Lauren in Los Angeles next week.)
“I was really stoked and really happy that they’re continuing to work with me,” Lawley said by phone on Wednesday. “It’s a huge deal for print models to work with a big designer.” She says that she knew about the Photoshopping scandal when she signed up to work with the brand, but unsurprisingly, says she thought the brand made an honest mistake. You won’t, however, see Lawley’s face on the side of a bus anytime soon: according to her agent, the Ralph Lauren images will only be used for in-store advertising and PR purposes.
