Victoria’s Secret has been criticized by many people for its lack of representation. In fact, the brand once considered its brunette models an example of “diversity,” even though they were still skinny.
For almost 50 years, this lingerie company has always hired beautiful women. But what had to be changed was the definition of beauty. People were especially outraged by this every year during the brand’s world-famous Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
But in 2019 all that changed. They made an effort to change their bad reputation by hiring Ali Tate-Cutler, a size 14 plus-size model who did a campaign for Bluebella Lingerie. In the past, VS has never worn models that were larger than a size 12. While it’s a positive step toward more body-inclusiveness at Victoria’s Secret, the brand still has a long way to go.
Ali hired a job directly for the brand instead of going through a casting process, as many models have. She told Life & Style: “Body positivity is so important because [it’s] time we love our bodies so we can transcend them. It’s our character and the people we are in the world that really matter.” Additionally, he has stated that the average size for women in America is a size 14, so this is the first real step for VS to become more relatable to the majority of women in the country.
Modeling helped her love herself
The model said that in a world where beauty is often dictated by a number on the scale, fashion actually helped her appreciate the skin she had. Plus size modeling opened her up to models who were larger than a size 14 and absolutely stunning. This made her need her brain and help her understand that she was beautiful at any size. Today, Ali Tate-Cutler is represented by Milk and Muse Model Management.
A Podcast host
As part of her work as a self-love advocate, Ali Tate-Cutler hosts a lifestyle podcast called “The Love You Give.” Recent episodes include explorations of fat positivity, the dismantling of oppression, cancel culture, and all kinds of trauma. Think of her as the cool big sister who promotes self-care and wellness through difficult but necessary conversations.
A #loveyourself campaign with Bluebella Lingerie and Victoria’s Secret
These brands partnered on a campaign celebrating self-love, so obviously Ali was perfect for it. The campaign celebrated Bluebella’s designs being worn on “diverse and empowered women” and the designs were available to buy in the US and UK.
He applauded VS for its attempts at inclusion.
While many people criticize VS for integrating inclusion too late in the game, Cutler actually applauded the brand for listening to their audience’s requests. We agree with Ali: as long as women of various sizes and shapes are catered for, we have no complaints.
A healthy lifestyle change after his father’s cancer
Tate-Cutler wasn’t always so wellness-oriented. She recently converted to full veganism and regular juice cleanses. She was previously a meat eater and a professional footballer in London. At that time, his father was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer and diabetes. The diagnosis was dire, but after embarking on a three-month juice cleanse, she recovered. She’s not the only one revamping her lifestyle: Her parents left their restaurant in California to join a spiritual community in Arizona called Tree of Life, to focus even more on wellness.
She suffered from mental health issues related to her curves.
Although she’s a great role model for curvy girls today, Ali wasn’t always so confident. After being surrounded by skinny models and Western beauty standards, she had a hard time accepting herself. But even before modeling and from a very young age, she experienced something called “disordered eating,” but only overcame her mental health issues when she realized that true inner happiness doesn’t come from what we buy, how we look, or what we wear.
Not everyone is happy with Ali’s hiring.
Although it is a celebration for women around the world, the fashion industry still has distorted perceptions and expectations of what the average woman should look like, and plus size models only make up about 1% of the fashion world. conventional modeling. Diversity remains a major issue for many fashion brands, and until they all jump on the inclusion bandwagon, we still have a long way to go. Still, Ali is essential in helping change this sad truth. ‘
She has said some controversial things in the past.
Ali Tate Cutler might be a champion of body positivity today, but she wasn’t always an icon. In fact, it was far from it. But we’ve all made mistakes and said toxic things out of pain at one point or another; the important thing is to learn from it. In the past, Tate-Cutler has made some startling comments about obese people, such as: “I care about the excessive amounts of carbon, nitrous oxide and methane gases it takes to produce a big person; the number of animals that have been slaughtered; the amount of exploitation that is taking place to create fat. Being obese is just bad for the environment.”
