Meet the influencer counting curvy models at London Fashion Week: plus-size icon Felicity Hayward has worked with Mac and The Body Shop – and ‘despises’ what the Kardashians did to body image
- This British influencer, who’s proud of her XXL size, didn’t miss a single show at London Fashion Week, as she will be counting the number of plus-size women on the catwalks
- First approached by photographer Miles Aldridge while she was working at a bar, now Hayward champions body-positive representation, skipping the front rows of brands who don’t stock her size
Felicity Hayward did not miss a single show at London Fashion Week, which runs from September 15 to 19, watching each model and counting the number of plus-size women on the catwalks.
For this influencer, so proud of her XXL shape, “beauty doesn’t have a size”.
Hayward’s fashion debut came in 2012 when, to her surprise, she was spotted in London by a well-known photographer.
Hayward has also found time to release her book Does My Butt Look Big in This?: A Body Positive Manifesto, which features a photo of her in a tight leopard-print dress on the cover.
Hayward, who grew up in a village in the east of England, started her work life far from the world of fashion, teaching autistic children.
She also worked in a bar in the evening to earn more money and it was there that photographer Miles Aldridge, who was looking for a blonde, curvy woman, approached her.
Having studied his work at university, she seized the opportunity, agreeing to the 20-hour shoot. “When it was published, it went viral,” explained Hayward.
“The photographer had never used plus-size models or a curvy woman in his work, he always used very, very thin women,” she added. Things quickly snowballed, with a modelling agency getting in touch. “I thought it was a prank,” she said. “I was put into a place where girls and women like me didn’t really have a space.”
