Fashion

Size-12 Model Brings Curves And Body Acceptance To SI Swimsuit Issue

by Emily Arata

Posing confidently in an orange bikini she designed, Robyn Lawley is taking the pages of Sports Illustrated by storm.

That's because the Australian model just became the first US size 12 to pose for the magazine's iconic swimsuit edition.

With a glowing tan and loose waves, Lawley brought her message of body acceptance to the big leagues.

The 25-year-old boasts a career posing for brands like Ralph Lauren and for Vogue Italia.

As a Sports Illustrated rookie, she has the media talking about size once more.

Lawley has been openly giddy about being invited to the Sports Illustrated family.

She told Time, "I never thought that this would happen to me, so this is a milestone."

During her casting meeting with the Sports Illustrated creative team last year, Lawley was reportedly told "to stay healthy and exactly as I am."

Don't go dropping the "plus-size" adjective in front of Lawley's name anytime soon.

The 6'2" model has been public about her message of positivity regarding weight and size.

In a 2013 interview with The Guardian, Lawley explained, "Look at fashion shows. We need a range of ages and ethnicities."

"There are just very thin, white, 16-year-old girls on the catwalk and that has to change."

https://instagram.com/p/vWMn6liJD5/embed/

She shared her belief that all body types are beautiful, adding, "I find all this stuff a very controlling and effective way of making women obsess over their weight, instead of exploiting their more important attributes, such as intellect, strength and power."

https://instagram.com/p/vRZJb8CJJM/embed/

Lawley is certainly a different kind of model.

She was in her first trimester of pregnancy when the shoot took place and only later discovered that fact.

It's hard to believe just a few years ago, Kate Upton's curvy appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated was surprising.

Lawley joins size-16 model Ashley Graham in the magazine, who posed in a swimsuit advertisement.

With Lawley's influence, every magazine could soon be filled with women of all shapes and sizes.

https://instagram.com/p/tv_u6PiJNj/embed/

Who could look away from a figure like this?

https://instagram.com/p/toJ2_6CJAI/embed/

Citations: Robyn Lawley size 12 will appear in Sports Illustrated in a bikini from her own line (Time )