Supermodel Ashley Graham poses in her new lingerie line for plus-size women

But after decades of completely ignoring overweight women in fashion, film and music, Ashley believes that the tide is finally changing thanks to more and more women speaking out about their needs being ignored.

She has just launched her own 19-piece lingerie range for plus-sized online retailer Navabi, with bras starting at 36DD and going up to 48H.

With the average British woman in the UK now a size 16, Ashley hopes we are seeing an end to a clothing market focused solely on the perfect size ten. 

Ashley wants more fashion houses to use curvy models so that the general public can see themselves represented on TV and in magazines  

She said: ‘To see the changes in this industry is phenomenal and I’m excited to see where it’s going.

‘I really feel that curves are in and everything that I do on Instagram is #curvesarein.

‘(As plus size models) we go on the runway castings as much as we can for the high end designers that have never done plus-size before. 

‘And for the beauty adverts – just because I’m plus-size doesn’t mean that I can’t do a beauty or hair campaign.

‘I was on the cover of Elle at the beginning of the year, I have done some editorial for Harpers Bazaar and I’m in Love Magazine and Miss Vogue right now, so it’s happening.

‘That’s when you know the industry is changing.’ 

Often, change starts with prominent public figures taking a stand and Ashley believes that British singer Adele is one of the stars that have really helped push the cause of curvy women in the western world.

Although Ashley is larger than your average model, she maintains a healthy and active lifestyle 

She said: ‘With Adele, people aren’t looking at her and saying that’s a big girl who can sing, they’re just saying that’s Adele.

‘But it’s still something lingering over people’s minds. 

‘Melissa McCartney is still only cast for big girl roles – I think that there is still that struggle in TV and film but she is still getting very high-profile roles.’ 

However, there is still most of the work to be done,in the last two Fashion weeks – during February this year and the most recent one last month – Ashley maintains that all of the big fashion houses did not want to use anybody plus-size on their catwalks. 

She said: ‘In February’s fashion week and this fashion week, no high end designers wanted to use plus-size.

‘There was a backlash – they saw us and they thought we were great, but they also said they were’t ready to work with us yet. 

Over years of working in fashion, Ashley Graham has worked out how to dress to best flatter her figure – she enjoys both accentuating her hourglass figure (left) and wearing slouchy clothes (right) 

‘So while they see the curves and the plus-size, there aren’t any high end designers putting curves on the catwalk yet.

‘But things are going to be changing soon, the fact that they are open to seeing plus-size models at castings – that’s a big deal.’ 

Ashley is most concerned about pushing through a change because she believes is is something that normal women need to see – plus-size women being admired and welcomed by the media and fashion – in order to feel good about themselves. 

She said: ‘I think seeing plus-size women on catwalks gives normal women confidence by knowing that there are actually people their size. 

‘They want to see themselves in the magazine – whether they are 13 or 45, they want to see someone representing them on a billboard, in a magazine or in a campaign.

Ashley Graham for Navabi bra collection left to right: Padded bra, £39, Non-padded Full Coverage bra, £39, pearl bra, £39, lace bra, £39. Bra sizes range from 36DD to 48H 

Ashley Graham for Navabi  pants collection, each £17 

‘It’s important for women to see body diversity in the community reflected in the media and you can tell it’s wanted.’ 

‘I have talked to multiple girls in different high schools with some other plus-size models, I also just went to a weight loss camp in upstate New York and it was really interesting because there were girls from a US size six (UK 10) and some as a US size 22 (UK 26).

‘These girls couldn’t believe that there were these models who were plus-size, who were excited about their curves and who were in the media.

‘They don’t know that it exists and they were excited and they said to us, ‘Thank you for making me feel so incredible about my body. 

‘I don’t have role models like this but you have created one for me.’

ASHLEY’S TIPS FOR DRESSING A PLUS-SIZE FIGURE:

Dress for your body type – trends don’t necessarily matter 

Buy classic pieces that you can wear in five or six years time – your wardrobe will grow immensely

Be confident to show off your hourglass figure

If you feel good in an outfit then it shows – Ashley would rather be half an hour late than not feel good in what she’s wearing for the day 

‘To have 13,14 and 15-year-old girls say this was so nice and it really makes me want to do something about the fashion industry.’ 

And while Ashley is full of positivity about women embracing their bodies, the model maintains that she is extremely anti-overeating. 

Over the years, being a plus-size model has made her a figurehead for the anti-fat brigade, with people accusing her of making the world an unhealthier place by promoting curvy bodies. 

She said: ‘I absolutely hate that. To the people who say I am pro-obesity, I laugh in their face.

‘I am pro-health and I am pro-diversity.

‘If you look on my Instagram page, you can see that I work out constantly and I have a workout video coming out that shows you how to work out and keep your curves.

‘I work out three-four days a week but I can modify my eating to kind of what I want, I also like green juices and healthy salads.

‘I just happen to be big boned and have an extra layer of meat on me.’ 

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