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As one of the most in demand faces of the moment Ashley Graham<\/a><\/strong> is experiencing a career defining fashion moment of epic proportions. Fresh work with Carine Roitfeld<\/a>, an appearance on Elle Quebec<\/a>‘s best-selling cover and best of all her very own lingerie collection, Ashley is making a splash in and out of fashion. MDC catches up with the enterprising Ashley to talk new work, the changing face of the modeling business and why she’s delving into the world of design.<\/p>\n J: When did you start modeling? I feel like we\u2019ve been seeing you in magazines forever.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n ASHLEY GRAHAM:<\/strong> I\u2019ve been modeling since I was twelve – I probably got my first paycheck at thirteen. It was in Nebraska and I had to model a see-thru bra. My mom had to sign a waiver to make sure that they would airbrush my nipples out. I was plus size already.<\/p>\n Then Wilhelmina found me when I was around 14 or so and later, Ford around 15 and I was there until the end of their plus size division. I\u2019m 26 now and I\u2019ve been with IMG since January.<\/p>\n What they’re doing at IMG is very different. Definitely, that is such a shift in the way things are done. <\/strong><\/p>\n AG:<\/strong> It\u2019s about time!<\/p>\n Definitely. You open up a magazine and you see a plus size model, you see a shorter model – those old divisions aren’t as prevalent as they used to be.<\/strong><\/p>\n AG:<\/strong> No, it\u2019s really changing.<\/p>\n How are you enjoying all this exciting new work? <\/strong><\/p>\n AG:<\/strong> How could you not love it? First of all, the industry is changing which is so exciting. Because I\u2019ve been doing this for so long, I\u2019ve seen so much change. You can tell it\u2019s not a fad. This is something that\u2019s here to stay. Curvy women, women that are in-between the straight size and the plus size, opening up doors just for all different shapes, sizes, races, even genders now! It\u2019s exciting to be a part of that in the fashion industry right now and say that I am a part of it.<\/p>\n What would you say are some exciting things that you\u2019ve been working on. Either that you\u2019ve just finished doing, or that you have coming out soon. <\/strong><\/p>\n AG:<\/strong> Elle Quebec<\/em> cover just came out, so exciting! They called me and they said, \u201cWe want to put you on the cover.\u201d It was just instant it wasn\u2019t even a question. I was like, \u201cWhat is going on!? Okay, great!!\u201d Harper\u2019s Bazaar<\/em> is out right now with Carine Roitfeld; that was her first beauty story for Bazaar so that was awesome. Carine is such a sweetheart, I love her she\u2019s so nice.\u00a0I\u2019ve been meeting some really cool photographers and now that IMG and WME (William Morris Entertainment) merged, a lot of TV things have been popping up which is really exciting.<\/p>\n That\u2019s really cool, I\u2019m happy to hear that! Is there anything that you haven\u2019t done just yet that you\u2019d be really excited to do? <\/strong><\/p>\n AG:<\/strong> I haven\u2019t shot an editorial for Vogue yet – I would love to do that!\u00a0I think that would be incredible! Not even for their Shape Issue – just a normal editorial with a plus sized model, or whatever you want to call us.<\/p>\n J: It\u2019s such a weird term because, how do you really describe it.<\/strong><\/p>\n AG: <\/strong>I just did an interview where they asked\u00a0\u201cwhat do you think of the word plus size?\u201d and I had to say that I was honestly so sick of the question and the back and forth fight around it. \u00a0I don\u2019t care what you call me. I\u2019m here to bridge the gap between what is straight size and what\u2019s plus size, but I\u2019m a model at the end of the day. If you have to put a label on me to figure out what client needs me that is fine. If a client needs a plus sized girl, then she knows where her plus size girls are!\u00a0I\u2019m just a model. I don’t like that there is this label used to describe me, but for bookings I understand why it\u2019s needed.<\/p>\n Elle Quebec<\/a> by Raphael Mazzucco \/ Harper’s Bazaar<\/a> by Johnny Dufort<\/a> <\/small><\/p>\n J: \u00a0Those labels are almost pass\u00e9 at this point – if you\u2019re a good model, you\u2019re a good model.<\/strong><\/p>\n AG:<\/strong> Yeah, it\u2019s a pretty face, it\u2019s someone who can move, it\u2019s someone who is interesting – book her! Who cares what size she is, get the clothes that fit her. There\u2019s tons of clothes out there now and there are so many different designers that are doing plus size now. Like, Eloquii! They\u2019re great, they\u2019re fantastic. Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, and everything at Macy\u2019s they all go up to 24\u2019s and 28\u2019s\u2026 so it\u2019s happening! Everything is changing, it\u2019s fantastic.<\/p>\n
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\nAG:<\/strong> It\u2019s totally different. I get phone calls at 8:00 at night telling me, \u201cYou have a casting at Vogue tomorrow\u2026\u201d and it\u2019s like, \u201cokay, thank you!\u201d It\u2019s just completely different! Different clients – I mean, I still have kept a lot of the same clients which is amazing, but it\u2019s a different territory. I\u2019m seeing major magazines, photographers, art directors. It\u2019s been fantastic. I\u2019m really happy.\u00a0And I\u2019m happy that they put us all on the same board! Which has just been great – no division!<\/p>\n![\"ashleyeditorial-\"](\"https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2014\/06\/ashleyeditorial-.jpg\")
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