Iskra Lawrence isn’t someone that rings any bells stateside — yet — but the plus-sized model is a social media sensation in her native England.
As a spokesmodel for the Aerie brand (a sub-brand of the American Eagle Outfitters brand of clothes), Iskra is shattering typical beauty conventions and proving that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. She frequently tells people that she doesn’t want to be classified as a “plus-sized model” (since she feels that’s a limiting label) and frequently calls out “body shamers” that make women feel bad for not being a size 6.
Recently, the Daily Mail showed off some photos of Iskra donning a patriotic red, white, and blue bikini from the Aerie brand, but there were more than just the stars and stripes to behold.
The plus-sized model called her stretch marks her “tiger stripes” in the photos she shared on her Instagram page, and she’s getting worldwide recognition from the blogger community for her willingness to not only embrace her curves but to celebrate all the good and bad associated with her curves.
“Reddy, white and blue for July 4th in my new @aerie #tigerstripeslookingfire #realskin #imperfectlyimperfect #aerieReal #everyBODYisbeautiful,” she wrote.
Check out some of the gorgeous photos below.
Tiger stripes???? #realskinissexyaf pic.twitter.com/7cozWtyWRE
— Iskra (@Iskra) June 22, 2018
The photo shoot was part of Aerie’s Love The Swim You’re In campaign and features other celebrities, like Rachel Platten, Lili Reinhart, and Gabrielle Union.
The plus-sized model’s post drew thousands of positive comments from women who she inspired to “get a bikini for the first time.” Some of the commenters were ED (eating disorder) survivors, and welcomed Iskra’s message of positivity, inclusion, and self-love.
Iskra Lawrence recently made the news when she joined other alternative models like Hilaria Baldwin and Yara Shahidi to spread a message of body acceptance and inclusion. They do so by sharing their own body insecurities with their fans and talking about how much those insecurities affected them until they’d learned to accept themselves for who they were, “flaws” and all.
But not all of Iskra’s experiences in the modeling world have been positive. In fact, she also recently revealed that, when she was 15 years old, she was dropped by a modeling agency because she was “too big” to be represented.
It was that rejection, though, that inspired her to be a positive body role model for other women, so in the end, she looked at it as a positive situation.
“I’m just trying to show bodies – we need to see bodies! There’s nothing wrong with that. These young girls, they just want to see someone normal. I’m very normal,” the plus-sized model said.
