Fiona Falkiner 2014, Australian plus size model Fiona Falkiner recently spoke to Sydney Confidential about her current experiences as a plus size model, including how she feels about being called a plus size model at a size 16. This plus model on the rise is now based in London, where she has been working on major campaigns with retailers such as Yours Clothing, where she is the face of the brand.When asked how she feels about the term “plus size”, Fiona told SC that she has “no qualms being called a plus size model”. She also said:
“I have actually been a size 20, I still am a plus-size model, I shop in plus-size sections and this is my career. I am not a straight-size model and I never have been.”
She also thinks the plus size fashion industry is changing and being more accepting of models with curves:
“This industry is coming ahead in leaps and bounds … it is awesome to see these beautiful, real incredible women being recognised and doing things which have never been done before.”The 31-year old model started on her journey of body acceptance eight years ago when she appeared on The Biggest Loser and has since gotten to a weight that she is comfortable with. She talked of how some models do everything they can to hide their weight but she is not one of them:
“I am a size 16 and I am comfortable. I train, I go to the gym. But I am never going to be one of those people who are in the gym seven times a week.”
It was while Fiona was on the Biggest Loser that she realized she needed to learn to be comfortable in her skin and not lose weight to fit the standards set by others. On the show, she went from a size 20 to a 12:
“I realized on the show (Biggest Loser) I had to focus more on myself and put myself first and not spend too much time thinking about what other people thought of me. I have been comfortable in my skin for the past five years or so. I have learnt that life is so short and you need to grab every opportunity with both hands.”
Fiona Falkiner is currently back in Sydney helping promote That’s Life magazine’s Realvolution campaign, for which she is a brand ambassador. She hopes that being a part of this campaign will inspire and help women to love themselves as they are and stop the self-loathing. She recently told Daily Mail UK:
“If you’re not happy about your body, go out there and make changes, stop worrying about it and start accepting who you are because this body is going to take you through for the rest of your life. Live in the now; stop hating on yourself. It’s been a huge journey for me. Before the Biggest Loser, I had a lot of insecurities and it took a lot of time to get to the place where I am now. Women are feeling judged by other women, which is really sad because we should be celebrating each other and stop being so hard on each other.”Fiona also spoke about how she thinks fashion designers should consider using plus size models for campaigns and create clothes in bigger sizes:
“I think there should be plus sized fashion in all levels of fashion, there are curvier women who want to dress in couture clothing. It would be great to see more designers who would cater for the plus sized curvier woman. Curvy women want to be sexy and on trend, too.”
To read Fiona’s entire interview with Sydney Confidential, click here. To read her interview with Daily Mail UK, click here.
You can follow Fiona on Facebook here and on Instagram here.
