Robyn Lawley Talks About Transition From Straight-Size To Plus-Size Model (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

Plus-size models are fashion's topic du jour, particularly in light of Vogue Italia's recent cover featuring three curvy, lingerie-clad models photographed by Steven Meisel.

Among the new guard of plus-size beauties is Robyn Lawley, one of the three stunners shot by Vogue Italia and a self-described former "skinny model." She told Models.com (video below), "I wasn't a straight-size model for long. I've always naturally been just a bigger girl. So, I found out I could model plus-size around 19. My sister suggested it to me. I just thought it was for older women, I didn't think I could do it at my age. I was quite offended in the beginning."

Now she's left all those doubts behind, having landed the cover of French Elle this past April in addition to the much-discussed Vogue Italia gig.

The Cut caught up with Lawley to get her two cents on the peculiar world of plus-size modeling and other less conventional topics. Fun facts we learned:

On her diet:

Although I am indulgent with my food, cooking is also a passion of mine. I love to make food from scratch and eating well. I've always been a very active, sporty girl so I get my workouts in. It sucks when people automatically think plus-size girls are unfit, fat girls.

On the advice she'd give to aspiring models:

If being a model is not working for you, stop trying to obtain it. I've seen girls stare at a yogurt container calorie box for hours on end, deliberating whether they should eat it. Look, if it's not working for you, hell, come to the plus-size world.

On her least favorite body part:

My worst feature is my feet. I have hobbit feet from wearing too small shoes while modeling.

Read the rest of Lawley's candid insights on The Cut, and check out her covers below.

WATCH:

Models.com talks to Robyn Lawley from models.com on Vimeo.

Comments

[MtnGeek]

12:46 PM on 06/14/2011

Finally, someone who doesn't look like they are about to check into rehab for an eating disorder.

[Seaglass]

12:10 PM on 06/13/2011

They are all just beautiful, and--so unlike typical "models"--WOMANLY, in the very best sense. Va-va-va-voom.

[DrSnuggles]

11:19 AM on 06/13/2011

Plus-size, straight size, size 2, size 14 - so long as they put women this attractive on covers of magazines; I will continue to enjoy getting my coffee every morning from 7-11.

But not that 'Elle' cover - who on earth thought that tights which appear to give the model green vericose veins would be a good idea?

[Reticent2]

08:31 AM on 06/13/2011

Straight size? So what's a gay size? What is a zig-zag size? Is a -2 size a rhombus size? And when did plus size mean simply non-emaciated?

[greyK]

07:10 PM on 06/12/2011

yep yep.

[Widespread Panic]

03:48 PM on 06/12/2011

She's drop dead gorgeous regardless of her weight.

[Progress08]

01:22 PM on 06/12/2011

Thick or thin she's beautiful.

[MrsBuckley]

12:00 PM on 06/12/2011

I hate that these ladies get classified as 'plus size'. There is nothing plus sized about them. Healthy is what they are. HEALTHY! #stupidpeople

[eus]

07:41 PM on 06/11/2011

Plus-sized or skinny, women are beautiful when they're girls when skin is as smooth etc, etc. The standard of beauty is still unrealistic, its about being young and smooth with plus sized boobs. Skinny becomes wrinkled and haggard with age. Plus size turns to lumps and sags. But as you get older you start thinking "to hell with it" and it probably doesnt matter.

[NaNaO321]

06:11 PM on 06/11/2011

Beautiful. I'd love to see these girls more often in mainstream ladies' fashion magazines.

[silverwing]

11:23 AM on 06/12/2011

I'm a straight female and I can't take my eyes off the girl in the middle! Her gaze is utterly magnetic... she oozes unapologetic femininity, and it's so inspiring.

I think Robin's pose on the cover (far right) is a bit tacky for how little she's wearing, but that comes down to the photo editor - there were probably dozens of other shots, so maybe they were deliberately going for the *confronting* one.

Either way, they're all stunning and it's such a relief to see a greater variety of role models being presented. Here's to the day we stop calling them "plus size" and just call them "models". :)

[Riyter]

04:01 PM on 06/13/2011

totally agree with you. It is fascinating to me that as a straight female I had the same reaction. I suspect it's one of the few times I've looked at a magazine cover and thought I could look sexy like that without first thinking "well, I'd have to lose about 25 pounds".

[maruski]

02:31 PM on 06/11/2011

what do you want to be they wear a size 12 or so...

I read recently the standard for the modeling industry is size 0.

Zero~!

[Majestry]

02:27 PM on 06/11/2011

I wouldn't kick any of them out of my bed for eating crackers, that's for sure. With that said, the people here who are saying how they're not larger women... they very clearly are. They are certainly plus-size. There is definitely an extra layer of soft goodness. Plus-size is not fat... it is slightly overweight (20, 25, 30 pounds depending on the height).

If you want to look great as a plus-size woman, though, you have to dress the part. Squeezing into skinny jeans and a tube top is not the way to go. There are plenty of clothes that accentuate shape and look amazing. A nice corset (we're not talking old-school foot-on-the-back lace up affairs) will accentuate both bust and butt and I don't think there is a straight man alive in the world who doesn't respond favorably to a woman wearing a corset.

[msles59130]

04:19 AM on 06/12/2011

These women are not overweight. They weigh about 160' and are about 5'10". That makes a bmi of about 22-23. That is not overweight at all.

[MsVella]

08:52 AM on 06/12/2011

They're still larger than the norm. I don't mean that as an insult of course, since they do look very beautiful, but yes these women do look over-weight. BMIs are not very clear indications of health. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't be surprised if they are healthy and just happen to be over weight, but I'm sure they're body fat percentage is higher than the norm.

[Majestry]

06:13 PM on 06/12/2011

They ARE overweight. Period.

[Captain Ron]

12:07 PM on 06/11/2011

Plus-size my foot! This is what a sexy woman looks like.

[Maxirules]

12:33 PM on 06/11/2011

I totally agree with you.

[MsVella]

08:48 AM on 06/12/2011

She is plus-sized, why is that seen as a bad thing?

She is plus sized, and also very sexy, one doesn't contradict the other.

[Captain Ron]

09:06 PM on 06/12/2011

She looks normal-size to me.

[bentax645]

11:34 AM on 06/11/2011

The Ten Top Models on Benjamin Kanarek Blog was a huge success and we felt that it would be a worthy addendum to list Ten Sexy Up and Coming Models for Spring-Summer 2011. The choices out there were numerous and as a result choosing ten girls from the massive choices available was not an easy task. In fact we could have easily chosen ten girls from every major country in the world and still have come across as being credible.

Our choices came from all of the major model agencies around the world. These models are quite new on the scene and from the Model Agencies newly added to their Main Boards, or coming from New Faces or their Development Department. Our decision is purely subjective and is based on our own personal bias. What is really nice for a change is that these models actually look like women, with breasts a defined waste line and womanly hips, unlike some of the more androgynous models out there. I find this to be a very refreshing change back to the future of the Super Models of the 90′s and the new generation of Laetitia Casta and Lara Stone looking models.

http://www.benjaminkanarekblog.com/9bf

[Tyrant242]

11:02 AM on 06/11/2011

So she is considered plus sized?!? To me these women qualify as normal sized to me. You know with actual hips and curves. ribs and spine not poking through. This is just another demonstration of the fasion industry's warped sense of proportion

[MsVella]

08:55 AM on 06/12/2011

I'm guessing you're american then. I don't mean that as an insult, but we europeans do seem to look at things differently and have different lifestyles. These women are all very beautiful, and they also happen to be larger than the norm. At least where I live, Malta, these women would all be seem as larger than the average woman of their age.

[JohnnyTooBad]

11:03 AM on 06/12/2011

Fanned. Unfortunately, we Americans eat so poorly our "normal" weights and perception thereof have ballooned. Now you have people who think that not eating meat and dairy at every meal is a sign of anorexia.

[Hookedonfashion]

07:19 PM on 06/12/2011

I am an American, and I definitely thinks these girls are overweight. I also am very glad I look like me, and I am almost 50. They do have pretty faces though.