Tess Holliday celebrates history-making modeling contract with a kickass photoshoot
We are totally in love with Tess Munster, otherwise known as plus-size model Tess Holliday. Why? Because she has encouraged body diversity and self-love for curvy women time and time again. She’s a pioneer in the plus-sized modeling industry and also created the popular body positive movement, #effyourbeautystandards. “Society tries to place us in a box and tell us how we can and can’t feel a certain way because of their size,” 29-year-old Tess told Style Caster back in March. “I’m a firm believer that everyone should dress how they want to dress, and rock what they want to rock. It’s part of why I started my #effyourbeautystandards movement – it’s really all about being yourself.”
See why we love her? Well, seems like designers are taking a liking to her as well, because in January she landed a contract with MiLK Model Management . . . making her the first model of her height and size — 5’5″ and a size 22 — to be signed to a major modeling agency. And she’s finally celebrating (because she deserves to celebrate) with the best agency photoshoot ever, IMHO.
This morning, Tess posted a link to an article by the Daily Mail on her Facebook page, saying, “So excited to share these images!” And we totally understand, because she looks SO fab.
Normally, Tess is known for wearing bright, funky patterns and colors, but these black-and white photographs, shot by Catherine Harbour, show Tess in a more natural, “stripped-down” light. She’s in a (super cute) black T-shirt and underwear, confidently flaunting what she’s got — and we totally love it.
“I think if someone doesn’t look at an image and feel something, you haven’t done your job,” she told the Daily Mail. “Whether it’s a negative or positive, it should evoke something in them. That’s what I’ve always done with my work, I want to challenge society’s perception of ‘beauty’ and what’s acceptable in our industry and the world. There is no one way to be a woman, or to be beautiful. We all deserve a place.”
Speaking about the shoot to the Daily Mail, Tess explained, “I feel like since signing to MiLK it’s challenged everything I thought I knew about modeling . . . in the best way. I push myself so much harder and really step out of my comfort zone, and you can see that with these images. My life has changed in the best way and I feel like the best is yet to come.”
We have a feeling that she’s totally right — we will be seeing a LOT more of Tess, and we can’t wait. With her gorgeous body and confidence, she’s making the world a better place for girls everywhere. You rock, Tess!
Images via
