Sports Illustrated annual swimsuit issue will feature a plus-size model for the first time. Ashley Graham, a size 16 model, stars on the new campaign for swimwear brand #swimsuitsforall, Daily Mail reports.
"I know my curves are sexy and I want everyone else to know that theirs are too. There is no reason to hide and every reason to flaunt," Graham said in a statement.
"The world is ready for more curves in bikinis. Swimsuits For All" helps women feel confident and sexy in swimsuits and I am so thrilled to be a part of the #CurvesinBikinis campaign!" Graham added.
The 26-year-old plus size model has already appeared in ads for Lane Bryant and Addition Elle, and was named the Full Figured Fashion Week's Model of the Year in 2012.
The new #swimsuitsforall campaign is a part of #CurvesinBikinis that will help empower women to love their curvy bodies and boost their confidence to feel sexy in bikinis.
"We are entering the curvy girl era and when all eyes are on the bikini babes of Sports Illustrated, it would be a great time to have the conversation about the rise of the curvy girl," a spokeswoman for Sports Illustrated said in an email to WPIX.
Earlier this year Graham shows support to plus size women and wrote an essay for Net-a-Porter's online magazine, The Edit.
"I think that you can be healthy at any size and my goal is to help and educate women on that," she wrote. "It doesn't matter if you're a size 2 or 22 as long as you're taking care of your body, working out, and telling yourself, 'I love you' instead of taking in the negativity of beauty standards," the size 16 model, Ashle Graham wrote.
Meanwhile, Fashion expert and TV presenter Louise Roe told Daily Mail that she was "thrilled" to see a transition in the fashion industry and 'old rules being broken down' as it opened up new ways "from transgender models on the runway to the rise of power-bloggers on the front row."
The Sports Illustrated swimsuit for all issue will be available in news stands on Feb. 09. Check out ad video here.
