Ashley Graham may be a champion for body confidence and diversity, but she has admitted she doesn't like being referred to as a "plus-size model". Speaking to British Vogue as she made her debut on the publication's cover, Ashley said she doesn't like being labelled due to her size.
"When we're supposed to be talking about diversity for women, it feels so divisive and purpose-defeating, giving us yet another label," she said.
Ashley Graham has landed the cover of Vogue magazine
The 28-year-old also revealed that while she once strived to be slimmer, she is now truly happy and confident in her own skin.
"Do I sometimes wish I were thinner? God, in the old days, absolutely I did, but now I feel that to lose weight would be disloyal to myself," she explained. "A lot of who I am is connected to my size, and I am so happy with who I am."
Ashley has achieved global success in the last couple of years, and has even been immortalised in plastic with her very own Barbie doll, but it hasn't all been smooth sailing. Touching upon the earlier days of her career, Ashley said she was told she wouldn't be a successful model unless she lost weight.
The model said she was told she would never succeed unless she lost weight
"For ten years I'd been told I was always going to be a catalogue girl, never a cover girl. Well, I got with IMG and did five covers in a year, boom, boom, boom. See, if you have a pretty face doors will open, but your job isn't just to walk through them, it's to get invited back," Ashley said.
"Look, I hit the beauty jackpot, I get it, but that's not enough, you've got to have more to have longevity in this business. It's always been, 'OK, so what can I do now?'"