14 DAY TRIAL // In January this year, Tess Holliday, also known as Tess Ryan or Tess Munser, became the world’s first plus-size model of her weight to get signed by a modeling agency. She is a size 22 and she is heavily tattooed, but she is also considerably shorter than what you’d expect a model to be.
Understandably, she never imagined she would get this far. Holliday is now working with the Curves division of the MiLk agency and she’s already seen her reputation take off, with the announcement that she is a MiLk girl.
She’s also gotten more than a fair share of criticism.
Haters, focus on yourselves!
An average plus-size model right now is between the US size 8 and 16, which is actually closer to the average female body in real life. Clearly, plus-size doesn’t mean the same thing in the fashion industry and for the “regular” woman.
This is why Tess is happy that she was signed by this agency because, she tells People Magazine (video below), they will now have proper representation in the world of fashion. Women of all shapes and sizes should have access to solid fashion and in order for that to happen, they must see models wearing the pieces they would also look good in.
As for those who say she’s promoting an unhealthy body ideal or that she’s downright “promoting” obesity, Tess has one message: it’s best if these people just focused on themselves instead of nitpicking stuff they see or read about online.
While they’re busy hating, she’s busy traveling the world and seeing her wildest dreams come true. Can they top that?
Tess is a rarity on the fashion scene, but is her appearance a good thing?
She does have a point when she says that women of all shapes and sizes should be represented in fashion, which is yet to happen. With most designers, sample sizes range from a US size 0 to 4 at the most, which means that anyone who doesn’t look like Kate Moss or Victoria Beckham isn’t represented, doesn’t exist fashion-wise.
At size 22, she is a rarity on the fashion scene. In the real world, though, a body like hers isn’t.
Those “haters” she’s trying to silence are only concerned people voicing their belief that turning overweight women and men into models means taking acceptance to a whole new level - a very dangerous one, where we no longer consider it a problem that needs fixing through a healthier lifestyle, but something that should be “embraced.”
Tess has been campaigning for such a move even before she was signed to MiLk, being the one who started the campaign #EffYourBeautyStandards on social media, which has been gaining considerable traction in recent months.
She may want her “haters” to work on themselves because she believes she’s just fine as she is, but can we really deny that she’s overweight? Or that other overweight people listening to her, people with health issues because of their weight, will suddenly say, “I should just embrace the body I have and stop trying to get better”?