How I accidentally became an underwear model.
Hmm.
Most click bait-ish title ever? Quite possibly.
So,
yes. I have recently been modelling gorgeous lingerie for a couple of
fabulous, feminist, empowering brands – Curvy Kate and Neon Moon. How the hell did that happen?! I have found myself wondering just
that quite a bit recently. Let’s investigate by retracing my steps
a little…
(Photo: Metro UK)
Literally
retracing my steps, I mean. My proud, stomping steps as I marched
through central London – starting in Carnaby Street and ending in
Golden Square – with a brilliant group of my fellow body positive,
badass women, all of us in bikinis. We stormed through the streets
led by Natasha Devon, who was armed with a megaphone and yelled into
it statements such as ‘RIOTS, NOT DIETS’ and ‘ALL BODIES ARE
BEACH BODIES!!’ which we then repeated in a strong, shouting
chorus. People we passed were stopping, looking on either completely
baffled or delighted and excited, and getting phones out to record or
snap photos of these seemingly mad women who were disrupting their
lunch breaks in the most unexpected and brilliant way. By the time we
reached the square, the march officially over, everyone was buzzing
and chattering excitedly with the press, the influencers, the brand
reps and the models. There were so many different companies, causes
and charities present that day – the lovely Natalie (aka
@stylemesunday) was present, co-hosting an episode of a TV series for
W with her friend Cherry Healey; the Love Disfigure ladies were
having their own mini-photo shoot with their home made signs;
Changing Faces were giving out leaflets and sticking temporary
tattoos on volunteers’ arms and cheeks… and Curvy Kate reps were
also there, giving out bright pink tote bags and chatting with
influencers wearing their swimwear sets.
(Me with the utter babe Ellen Jones, pre-bikini reveal)
(Photo: Mama, walking alongside our parade!)
(Photo: @stylemesunday)
(Photo: @stylemesunday)
I
only briefly spoke to Curvy Kate that day, but later found their
social media platforms and immediately followed; their pledge to
provide sexy lingerie and swimwear for ladies with a need for bigger
cups – at affordable prices! – is definitely something I am
passionate about and interested in. Then a couple of weeks later, I
think it was, I received an email about their upcoming campaign ‘My Body Victory’, something they were working on in the aim to get
more people talking about just how amazing and beautiful their bodies
are – no matter what shape, size, colour or ability. They actually
wanted me to come up to town
for a photo shoot and feature as one of the campaign ambassadors! I
replied immediately with a thrilled ‘YAAASSSS’ that I reckon came
out as a scream when they opened the email.
The
day of the shoot was surreal, sexy, stylish and perfectly positive.
We were in a huge studio space that felt like a luxurious NYC
apartment, being made up by the most considerate artists (who didn’t
make me feel like a diva when I asked for only cool tones on my
face!) and then we each got
individual shoot time with the lovely photographer and video-makers before grouping together to do some dancing, posing and chatting. I
had the loveliest talks with my fellow Victory models while we were
having down time between shoots and interviews; we swapped stories of
our journeys to loving our bodies and my admiration for every woman
there was enormous. Another highlight of the shoot day had to be the
lunch break – the Curvy Kate ladies ordered us a big bundle of
goodness from LEON! I couldn’t help but wonder how many lingerie
brands let their models munch on vegan meatballs and baked fries
between shots…
The
response to the Curvy Kate #MyBodyVictory campaign has been amazing
so far. It will be all over socials for the rest of August at least
(and I’ll continue posting about it until the end of time, I
expect) so take a peek if you haven’t already, and follow all my
fellow models immediately.
So,
as you can imagine, I was buzzing hard after that experience. My body
positivity vibes were sky high, and I’d been pleasantly surprised
yet again by how comfortable I am in front of a camera and how much
of my gorgeous flesh I am prepared to flash. Then my lovely pal
Gretel popped up in my Instagram inbox one night, sending me a recent
post by Neon Moon, reaching out to their followers and inviting
women to apply to be models for an upcoming shoot for their new
collection. As a long time follower of Neon Moon, I was shocked I
hadn’t caught this post already (ta, Insta algorithms) and looking
at the details I realised the applications closed at midnight that
night, so I had to fill out
their form and send it off in approximately 24 minutes. Well, the time pressure definitely saved me over-editing my answers
the questions on the form – and my previous modelling experience
made me all the more confident in my ability to do it.
I
heard back the next day, that I’d been selected as 1 of 10 out of
over 100 applicants. I was so psyched, and honoured. Then a week
later, I found myself in another London studio having my face
prettied up by the angelic Rianna (who used Sukin moisturisers and
hydrating toners – my fave brand from Australia!), meeting more
badass, beautiful women who practically radiated body love and oozed
confidence, and were fascinating to talk to. I fell madly in love
with Hayat in particular, the CEO and founder of the company, who had
modelled with the group the day before and couldn’t do enough for
us gals. The creative team were also magnificent, made me feel 100%
comfortable – and kindly put the punchiest ‘Reputation’ tracks
on for me while I had my solo shots done. Let me tell you, moving and
posing for a camera while ‘This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things’
plays is all kinds of magical.
I
have been so amazed at the
finished pics by both Curvy Kate and Neon Moon; they’re so
different but equally brilliant. I love how I look in both sets –
of shots and underwear!
As
a teenager, I never dreamed of being a model. I obviously hoped I’d
someday perform on a stage in the West End, or have books in the
window at Waterstones stores across the country, but the idea of
doing cool photo shoots in the city and being a face (and in this
case, a whole body!) in a brand campaign was… crazy. But then, as a
teenager I didn’t know what body positivity was, nor did I realise
how desperately I needed it – and how not all models have to look
like the ones I was always seeing in the magazines gleaming on the
shelves in Tesco, or the popular girls who would tease the ‘fat emo
freaks’
like me and say we’d never
be properly pretty. I also
think if the modelling thing had happened just a couple of years ago,
I wouldn’t have handled it that well. Right now, I am the happiest
and most confident in my body I have ever been, and I am delighted to
have the opportunity to get myself out there and show other humans
that all bodies are beautiful, and we deserve to take pride in ours.
Hey, toxic manipulative media
giants? Make room, body love is coming through.
I am thrilled to read your story of becoming an underwear model. This moment of "ALL BODIES ARE BEACH BODIES" is actually appreciative! We should be proud of what we are. You've set the perfect example. Congratulations for being the ambassador of the Best Lingerie Brand!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, you gorgeous being. x
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