Victoria’s Secret plus-size faux pas is now backfiring

AN Irish plus-size model who has been on the cover of Vogue has said the cancellation of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show sends a clear message to fashion brands.

And Dubliner Tia Duffy, below, is urging clothing companies to think about the impact they have on women’s body image. Tia – who was once turned away from an Irish agency for being ‘too big’ – told how as a young model the Victoria’s Secret show had a massive impact on her.

‘When I started out modelling over a decade ago and was entering Miss Ireland, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was a huge cultural influence,’ she said. ‘The press and magazines would constantly boast about these models having perfect measurements and there were very obvious weight and size restrictions.’ Tia added that the bodies of the Victoria’s Secret angels who walked the fashion show every year placed unreal expectations on women.

‘It is not a fair representation of society or certainly Victoria’s Secret customers,’ she said. ‘Those days of guilting us into feeling bad about our bodies are long gone.’

Prompted by her own experience and the lack of diversity across the modelling industry, Tia went on to found her Be Body Aware campaign in 2016, which captured the attention of Vogue Italia. The model who was once deemed ‘too big’ graced the pages of the world’s biggest beauty bible.

‘I publicly asked Victoria’s Secret to please consider casting a curvy model. Nothing has changed in four years for that company although Vogue Italia, Nike and hundreds of other brands support my cause. So it can be done,’ she said.