Five years into her career, it’s hard to imagine there was a time when supermodel Kate Upton‘s signature curves were ever a liability.
But the blonde bombshell told Glamour magazine she faced relentless criticism starting out in Miami.
“Where I grew up, it was considered a great thing to have a curvy body to fill out a bathing suit,” Upton tells the mag. “For that to be a negative was so confusing to me.
“And besides, when I started working, I was booked constantly, mostly for catalog work. So when people were saying, ‘Oh, she doesn’t have the right look for a model,’ I thought, ‘Then why am I working every single day?’”
“At first I tried to diet to become their image, but eventually I realized that it wasn’t realistic—that this is just the shape of my body,” Upton said.
“So I had to block them out. I think that the people who are the loudest about wanting to change you are the people with the least amount of vision and creativity.”
Well said. It’s this sort of dogged self-assurance that is changing the fashion game for good, allowing for more hourglass figures to to again fill magazine pages.
“Things have definitely changed in the industry, mostly for the positive. We’re more accepting now,” Upton continued.
“For me, someone like Ashley Graham, who loves her body and is always talking about it, is inspiring.”
They keep talking; we keep listening.