Plus-Size Model Marquita Pring Owns Up: She Uses Hip Padding

Because the world of fashion is all about selling illusions, it turns out not even plus-size models are actually as “plus-size” as they appear. Marquita Pring, who has modeled for Levi’s and Jean Paul Gaultier, says she sometimes uses hip padding to appear curvier.

She’s one of the hottest plus-size models of the moment but, in a brand new interview, Pring reveals that not even her curves are sometimes good enough for some of the clients she works for.

As such, she has to use foam pads on her hips for certain clients who want her to model for them but would also like her to be a bit plumper than she is in real life.

“Some [clients] like you much smaller, [U.S.] size 10, size 8. Some people would prefer a 14 or 16. So for me, I’m right in the middle at a sort of small 14, high 12. So I pad sometimes since I’ve got clients who would prefer a solid 14 or 16,” she says in the interview cited by StyleBistro.

Marquita immediately realizes she should have probably said nothing about the padding.

“I don’t know if we should reveal this secret! They’re pieces of foam. So I just lay them flat on each hip underneath [hosiery]. They’re like a solid inch and a half thick… [and] make you seem all around wider,” she continues.

While it’s not something Marquita would do on a daily basis because it’s “weird,” the model says padding is just like many other tricks model use to look their best in photospreads.

“From the side you look kind of weird – and it feels weird. Like every now and then my arm gets caught on it and I’m like, wait, this isn’t me. But it’s better for me because I can still be healthy and work out and have the body I want. It’s a little bit of model magic,” she says.

In the same interview, Pring also notes that the term “plus-size” should be taken out of use and be replaced with “curvy,” which is more indicative of their body size than the other one.