If you’ve never heard of model Iskra Lawrence, you surely won’t forget these photos. The 25-year-old model, believe it or not, is considered “plus-sized” by the fashion industry. She’s physically fit and regularly Instagrams her gym stints, but Iskra enjoys her food and isn’t ashamed of her cellulite. Why not? Because most women have at least a little bit of the stuff no matter how much time they spend eating right and going to the gym. Lawrence also takes pride in the #unretouched hashtag and doesn’t use filters or Photoshop on any of her social media photos.
So, it makes perfect sense to see Lawrence taking on the fashion industry. Yet she works regularly as a model and recently appeared in American Eagle’s unretouched underwear ads. The line is called the Airie campaign, which uses Lawrence’s unretouched photos to capture the women who feel alienated by the overly airbrushed likes of the Victoria’s Secret catalog.
The social media success of these “totally unretouched” pictures provided Lawrence with the impetus to launch her brand new website, RunwayRiot. She will serve as editor of the website and spoke with GMA about how the fashion industry “made the majority of women feel inferior,” and she’s tired of the 65 to 70 percent of women who feel “invisible” because they wear plus sizes. Her main rule for the website will be “No Retouched Photos.” Lawrence said, “It’s something I’m so passionate about because, growing up, I wanted to feel confident in myself and who I am, not for being someone that was retouched, that I couldn’t identify with.”
Lawrence also promises that the site will embrace all sizes from 0 to 28. As editor, she will be inclusive of those with and without thigh gaps. Sounds like a move in the right direction for someone, anyone, to embrace within the industry. Here are some more of Lawrence’s gorgeous, unretouched Instagram photos.
https://instagram.com/p/7sRybgLk3X/