Sports Illustrated Ashley Graham's new cover girl
Last year, oversized model Ashley Graham was hiding shamefully inside the magazine in the Swimsuit Issue des Sports Illustrated, while on the cover sheet the slim blonde model Hannah Davis smiled at the reader. But now she made her career breakthrough as the cover girl of the same magazine in 2016. The success of the plus-size model has already been impressive. The young woman, born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1987, was discovered at the age of twelve and has already posed for several magazines and fashion shows. Examples include the issues for the fashion magazines Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Glamor and Latina. Ashley Graham also successfully used the oversize label Lane Byrant as a model in a well-received advertising clip. On YouTube alone, it reached over 800,000 clicks. This success in turn made headlines in the Huffington Post and New York Post. But the 28-year-old was also shown on the screen for the American audience in some TV shows such as the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Entertainment Tonight.
However, decorating the cover of the most famous swimwear magazine like Sports Illustrated is, according to her, the greatest success of her career. The bikini magazine, which is published every year in February, is regarded as a kind of institution in this market segment in the United States. The 50th edition sold 785,000 copies in 2014. For a long time, however, well-trained athletes or slim models presented the latest trends. The German Heidi Klum also owes her international breakthrough to her appearance as a cover girl for Sports Illustrated.
But even in the past, the cover of Sports Illustrated featured "normal" slim women on the front page. These had nothing in common with the "lean models" that presented other fashion papers as cover girls. The step towards the forms of an Ashley Graham is more a step towards "normalcy". Even Barbie had to put a few pounds on her hips to mark her 50th birthday. Whatever is fat or plump is always in the eye of the beholder. According to her agency, Ashley Graham wears a size 44 and her measurements are 97-76-116. Their weight is estimated at 83 or 91 kilos. According to the common doctrine of the Body Mass Index (BMI), she would be described as "overweight". However, the criteria of the BMI are extremely controversial and should no longer be carried like a sacred monstrance of "absolute perfection".
With the nomination as "Rookie of the Year" Ashley Graham can be voted the swimwear newcomer of the year by readers.