Iskra Lawrence started modeling when she was just 13 years old and was dropped by her agency at 15 for being too curvy. But she's come a long way since then. The 25-year-old blonde bombshell, who people say looks a lot like Victoria's Secret model Gigi Hadid, is making a huge mark in the plus-size modeling world and doing all she can to promote self-confidence, educate women on positive body image and change the way the modeling industry views women.
With 540,000 Instagram followers, a Kardashian-sized butt that has people talking, an awesome modeling campaign, and an inspirational message, she's doing all she can to make a difference. She realized pretty early on that this is what she needed to do and that she had the perfect body to do it. Her words are not only powerful, but they're important, and she's the perfect role model for young girls who may be struggling with feeling confident in a world where the modeling industry makes you feel as though you need to be stick thin to be beautiful.
"I realized at around 18 that instead of trying to fit into sample sizes I would try to change the industry," the size 14 model told Body Rock. "When I signed with my current agencies they helped me realize that I could be a successful model at my size. So I focused on becoming the best version of myself, work harder, research nutrition and work out to feel strong and healthy."
Here are five things you need to know about the absolutely stunning British model...
1. She never uses Photoshop
She also doesn't believe in dieting, airbrushing or retouching any of her photos, and she makes this all very clear on Instagram. "Nothing I love more than creating raw images," she captioned one photo. "The vulnerability of no retouching or make up is so real and as a model I want to show who I truly am because beauty is not defined by anyone but you."
"Never thought I'd love my body," she captioned a cheeky shot. "In my teens I was called fat so many times by the fashion industry I am now numb to it. Because I know that this body is for more than what it looks like and I am more than a label, a size I'm one of a kind and so are you. I work to be smarter, more compassionate & giving and no one can ever take this qualities away from you...And don't try and say that this is a booty pic and my caption has nothing to do with it-my confidence has everything to do with my journey."
Her most talked-about un-retouched photo was another side-by-side booty shot of her in a bikini showing off all her best assets. "Yes this is clearly a booty pic but do you see why?" she wrote. "Because I haven't airbrushed my tiger stripe stretch marks or my cellulite lightning bolts or my back fat because this is my body, I love it it's real and I love posting pictures showing how confident I am because society has taught us we have 'flaws' and I'm telling you who gives a...because you are more than your body and you get to decide what beauty is."
2. She was part of Aerie's inspiration
In 2014, American Eagle's Aerie launched its #AerieReal campaign to promote healthy body image by not digitally removing models' blemishes, tattoos, cellulite or other features that are usually Photoshopped or retouched in its advertisements or on the website. Shortly after American Eagle launched the campaign, The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) honored Aerie with its first-ever NEDA Inspires Seal of Approval, and it was all because of Lawrence, who is an ambassador for the association and the creator of NEDA Inspires, according to Shape Magazine. As soon as she saw that Aerie stopped retouching images, she knew this was a brand she had to get on board with. "The number of messages I received directly from girls who are suffering or recovering from eating disorders, who have been inspired by Aerie and my photos, is incredible," she told People. "It's given me such a sense of responsibility."
She then became a model for Aerie, a big turning point in her career. "It's all about the message that Aerie has - and the people that work behind the brand," she told Glamour. "Some of them have daughters that have had eating disorders and they're really passionate about the cause. When I started working for them it changed my life and I wanted to help change other girls lives through their campaigns. I've used my social media to do that. I very much promote untouched images on there where I can and talk about it."
3. She's a fashion editor
Lawrence recently became the managing editor of Runway Riot, which is the re-designed Styleite.com. "[Runway Riot] is a style and fashion site for an underrepresented and often underappreciated majority of women in American who wear larger sizes," according to Glamour. "[It will feature] editorials with women of all sizes, shoppable content via Reward Style, video series with Lawrence, originally reported features, investigative stories, and hard hitting commentary on the fashion industry." It is also looking to shake things up to talk about "discriminatory pricing, relegating larger clothes to the storage section of department stores, and stylists who still think [models] should squeeze into smaller sizes."
Lawrence herself describes Runway Riot as "a war against the fashion industry and everyone who's excluding us from the party." "Well, take for example, the Balmain for H&M collection. They only went up to a size 12...why couldn't they have gone up to a size 20?" she explained to Shape Magazine. "There are the discussions I want to have, because we have women coming to our side who want to shop, they want to wear these clothes. I want to go to these brands with numbers and tell them they're missing out. They have an idea in their mind that maybe bigger girls don't look as good in the clothes, but it's all about confidence. If they feel sexy and are owning it and rocking it, that's what it's about."
4. She teaches
Lawrence teaches classes through The Body Project, which is a prevention program that helps young women combat eating disorders, according to Shape Magazine. When I-D asked what she was working on at the moment, she explained The Body Project. "[It] focuses on getting compulsory self-care and body confidence and nutrition classes in schools," she said. "I'm going to be a facilitator for the project which is the only recognized course that has seen people improve from eating disorders."
5. She wishes people would stop saying plus-size
While she understands that is what she technically is considered in the fashion world, she just wishes the label would stop. "I don't have a problem if I get a call sheet and it says you know, 'Emma: Model; Iskra: Plus-Size Model.' I'm like, OK, well that's a bit annoying, but it's an easy way for you to organize things. If that has to be done it has to be done. What upsets me is that the fact that if you've categorized me, you've categorized all women my size and above me in the real world. The term has a really negative connotation thanks to the fashion industry, and that's why we don't use labels on Runway Riot."
"Calling someone 'plus-size,' it seems like it's for attention or publicity," she continued. "Get over it - she's a wonderful model. And now, brands are actually taking away the 'plus' from their names because of the negative connotation. I think women prefer 'curvy' instead of 'plus-size' - I would say I'm a curvy model...That's why looking at only numbers is just terrible. I'm so lucky that now, I'm being booked for being Iskra Lawrence, not just my measurements."
"I love how proud women can be if they have that 'plus' label and are owning it," she also told I-D. "What I dislike is the fact that women in the real world are being labeled as plus and they have no choice about that. As an industry term, used for organizational purposes, I kind of get it...But it can also be quite damaging to label someone like that."
