No matter what your body shape, you've probably felt like you had to label it at one point or another: apple or pear, plus, petite, curvy, boyish, the list goes on and on. And no matter which label you've opted to use, you've probably felt, on occasion, like your shape isn't "normal" — or at least as amaaaazing as models', right? Thankfully, a group of models called ALDA is looking to turn that all around.
ALDA was launched by five models — Ashley Graham, Danielle Redman, Inga Eiriksdottir, Julie Henderson, and Marquita Pring — last year, in an bid to "change the perception of beauty in the fashion industry," as they explained to Huffington Post.
__More from The Stir: Powerful Portraits Tell the True Stories About Women's Bodies After Breast Cancer __
And now they're making headlines for bearing it all — no, really, they posed in the buff — for Iceland's Glamour magazine in an eight-page spread. The response: An ovation of love, of course! It's pure body diversity illustrated in the most straightforward, beautiful way. Check it out:
Here's the group gettin' their groove on behind-the-scenes:
And a single, gorge shot of U.S.-reppin' Ashley Graham — the beauty you may recognize from Lane Bryant and Swimsuits for All ads.
So … refreshing. Empowering. And altogether AWESOME!
Unfortunately, some supposedly body positive campaigns is that they seem to be saying fuller-figured women are more beautiful. (The "I'm No Angel" ad from Cacique is a recent example.) While it's been FAR too long since the fashion world acknowledged that most women aren't all a size 00 and 5'10", flipping the script in the complete opposite direction isn't doing anyone any favors either.
We need to be reminded that women's bodies are various shapes and sizes, and that's not only "normal" — it's stunning. That's what the ALDA shoot succeeds at doing, and then some. More of THIS please! Love it.
What's your gut reaction to these images?
Image via ALDAwomen/Instagram
