She is a model, designer and body activist and she stars next to three other power women in our new ‘Fit to be’ campaign. After introducing Christie Brinkley and Lana Ogilvie it’s now time to meet the most popular plus-size model of the moment: Ashley Graham. We are very proud that she is one of the faces of NYDJ. With her beautiful voluptuous body she shows that jeans on a plus size body look incredibly good.

Recently she wrote history by being the first plus-size model featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Ashley told Access Hollywood Live:“To actually be on the cover, I didn’t think that Sports Illustrated was going to take that risk. But right now what they are doing is they are setting the standard for what everybody else — magazines, designers, people in Hollywood, should be doing.” Nowadays a lot of modelling pictures are photoshopped to create the perfect picture, but this time they didn’t: “They did not retouch me,” she said. “They did not take out things. They didn’t reshape my body in any way, shape or form.”

How it all began
The 28-year-old American grew up in Nebraska where she was scouted in a mall at the age of 12. Her natural beauty and bubbly personality led to her signing her first contract with international modelling agency Wilhelmina Models. From that moment on her career progressed rapidly. She featured on countless magazines covers such as ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. Besides that she featured in numerous campaigns and editorials. Many brands, like NYDJ, made a statement by choosing a plus-size model instead of an average size-zero model.

From (role) model to business woman
Besides her successful modelling career she has a lot of other things going on. Last year she secured an exclusive partnership with Swimsuits For All, for whom she will design three annual swimsuit collections. She will also be one of the new faces of NYDJ. And as if that isn’t enough she has collaborated with Canadian brand Addition Elle on her own lingerie line: Ashley Graham Lingerie Collection. The plus-size collection features sexy pieces designed to fit and flatter women of various sizes.

As a body activist and a role model for women with a curvier body type, Ashley is regularly invited to speak at high schools about body image en self-acceptance.

The model always has been slightly larger and just like so many other women she has dealt with a lack of confidence: "I would go home and look in the mirror and hate what I saw," she said. But learning to face her insecurities head-on is what allowed her to take back control of her body: "I felt free, once I realized I was never going to fit the narrow mould that society wanted me to fit in. I was never going to be perfect enough for an industry that defines perfection from the outside in, and that's okay."

Check out our plus size collection.