Fashion Youtuber find-StyleLikeU and plus size models using padding?

Recently on youtube I had come across an account called StyleLikeU. There videos are thought provoking and really make you think just how the fashion and modelling industry is still having such negative effects on society and the models themselves. From the handful of videos I saw from there account they were all interviews with models where they were asked a serious of questions based upon there views of the industry as well as views on how women are still portrayed as sexual objects in the media.

Iskra Lawrence is a supermodel who spoke in a interview about how she was scouted at a young age, signed with an agency but then grew hips and wasn't acceptable to the agencies strict criteria so was dropped. What was more interesting though was how she then went on the pursue a plus-size model career and was then told she wasnt big enough. She was a size 12 and they (at this one particular agency she spoke about) only

represented models who were size 14 and bigger.

Turns out that most plus size models pad there bodies in order to fit into the size 14 clothes as many are normally a size 12. The process involves laying pieces of foam about an inch and half thick on the hips, securing the padding beneath the undergarments. It starts to make you think and realize that even the plus size clothing companies are still playing by the mainstream fashion rules. I find it upsetting as it is, like with mainstream models, showing an unrealistic body expectation which many women will now aspire to and not understand why they can then not achieve this look. The only way in which this look will then be able to be achieved would be through padding or cosmetic surgery. I understand that marketers are trying to make a fantasy for there consumer to buy into but evidence has shown that women who see non altered photos and women of a variety of sizes makes it good for business. So as is evident there are alot of things about the modelling industry that need changing, to start with, a realistic body representation needs to be a main focus.

Hayley x