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Size 10 model Myla Dalbesio landed a coveted spot in a recent Calvin Klein underwear campaign alongside Lara Stone, Jourdan Dunn, and Ji Hye Park. It felt like progress to Dalbesio, who told Elle: "I'm in the middle. I'm not skinny enough to be with the skinny girls and I'm not large enough to be with the large girls and I haven't been able to find my place. This [campaign] was such a great feeling."
But the campaign courted online rage yesterday when Dalbesio was described as a plus-size model by outlets like Entertainment Tonight. Tweets to Calvin Klein read: "WTF @CalvinKlein --this is your "plus-size model"?" and "That's not a plus size! You guys need to rethink what a plus-size is."
Calvin Klein released a statement to the New York Times, saying:
The new Calvin Klein Underwear Perfectly Fit imagery features models Myla Dalbesio, Jourdan Dunn, Amanda Wellsh, Ji Hye Park and the face of the brand, Lara Stone, in several styles. The Perfectly Fit line was created to celebrate and cater to the needs of different women, and these images are intended to communicate that our new line is more inclusive and available in several silhouettes in an extensive range of sizes.NYT fashion critic Vanessa Friedman thinks that it was almost a knee-jerk reaction to blame Calvin Klein, regardless of whether they were trying to be inclusive. "Partly, I would think, it's because of its Kate Moss-in-her-super-skinny-younger-days past, and because of the immediate assumption when it comes to fashion that designers and the houses they shape (literally and metaphorically) are the driving forces behind body dysmorphism, and it's fun to call them out on it. More fun than, say, calling out magazines or even the models and their agencies themselves."
Racked Video Archives: Behind the Scenes of a Lingerie Photoshoot
· Calvin Klein Gets a Plus-Size Controversy [NYT]
· Myla Dalbesio on Her New Calvin Klein Campaign and the Rise of the 'In-Between' Model [Elle]
· Plus-Size Clothes Were Once Called 'Mama Size' [Racked]
· After Outcry, Victoria's Secret Ditches Body-Shaming Slogan [Racked]
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