V Mag plus size spread divides readers, is fashion ready for bigger models?

A controversial new spread in V Magazine‘s “size issue” is being hotly debated all over the internet, due to the lack of airbrushing and skimpy clothes featured in the shots.

Four genuinely plus-sized models (not the more average size 10 or 14 models one might see in a regular “curves” pictorial) are featured in cut-out swimwear and “skinny” jeans, posing with a refreshing lack of self-doubt and positioned as any “normal” model might be. Many blogs and commenters lauded the pics- Jezebel predictably adored them, and even the Daily Mail kind of curbed the hate in their piece on the spread. But it didn’t take long for haters to weigh in, calling the models (Tara Lynn, Candice Huffine, Michelle Olson, and Marquita Pring) “cows” or worse, and basically saying all the women featured were woefully unhealthy and- get this- setting a deadly and unhealthy standard that was harmful to young women.

Below are a few more shots from the spread. What do you think? Do the models look fantastic and more accurately represent what women really look like? Or should fashion remain in the realm of single digit sizes?