'Curviest model ever' walks the runway

On Friday evening, women gathered to watch curvy models rule the runway during a fashion show by Loft laser-focused on the plus-size community.

Models, just as famous for their curves as for their faces, marched down the runway – Hunter McGrady, Stella Duval, and Ali Tate Cutler, to name a few – plus three newbie models plucked from the crowd.

Loft officially entered the plus-size market in February 2018, with a stylish line of dresses, trousers, blouses, and more in the brand’s signature bright colour palette and floral prints in sizes 16 to 26. The brand used this fashion show to kickoff to theCURVYcon 2018, a conference focused on the plus-size community.

These moments are monumental for the body-positive movement. Hunter previously told Yahoo Lifestyle that they allow women to think ‘OK, I am beautiful as I am, and I am worthy, and I am enough’.

Hunter’s level of body confidence and positivity appears to be second nature now – after all, she has landed covers for Sports Illustrated (where she was called their “curviest model ever”) and a campaign for Icelandic Glacial, and has even launched her own plus-size bathing suit line.

But her road to self-love didn’t happen overnight. She began her career modelling at 16 years old as a “straight-size model,” she says, a size 2 and 6 feet tall. Until one day, her whole world changed.

“I got turned away from one of my jobs for being too big. And so I took four years off to really just grow into my body, eat healthy, [and] nourish myself because I was so unhappy before. And during that time, I really learned to honestly and truthfully tell myself positive affirmations because our mind is so important and it’s so powerful.”

These positive affirmations were central to Hunter’s success in achieving self-love. She says she would look in the mirror and say, “Hunter, you are loved. You are worthy. You are powerful. You are beautiful. You are heard.”

But not every day is easy. “I still wake up … when I don’t want to go get out of bed. I don’t want to do anything.”

According to Hunter, on those days, the most important thing you can do is “renew your mind and really make it part of your thought process.”

That’s the reason style influencers CeCe Olisa and Chastity Garner Valentine created theCURVYcon, which is in it’s fourth year. This year i was headlined by Gabourey Sidibe, WWE’s Nia Jax and Nikki Bella, and Dietland‘s Jen Ponton.

“TheCURVYcon’s goal is to uplift women in a way that will stick with them for the rest of the year,” Valentine and Olisa told Yahoo Lifestyle.

“Gabourey Sidibe and Nia Jax have conquered their spaces in spite of what the norms are for their industries, showing our attendees they did not let their size dictate their accomplishments.

“They have both dominated their industries and opened the door for other women and young girls to pursue their goals in these spaces. We are so proud to have these two forces to be a part of theCURVYcon.”

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