The 2025 TV schedule has brought us many delights so far, but few have been quite as sartorially-based as the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. The event featured several famous names walking the runway in a number of glam lingerie looks, including former Euphoria star Barbie Ferreira, Gigi Hadid and her newly-blonde sister Bella Hadid, a non-photoshopped Karol G, and self-love praising supermodel Ashley Graham. In fact, the Sports Illustrated cover model let everyone know we’d see “a little cellulite” during her runway time, so she’s staying true to her body positivity credo.
What Did Ashley Graham Say About Walking The Victoria’s Secret Runway?
As a full-figured model, Ashley Graham has spent much of her career advocating for body acceptance, while coming up against some strong negativity for doing so. The mom of one (who along with modeling since the age of 12 has also appeared on shows like Lip Sync Battle and America’s Next Top Model, and made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in Chicago earlier this year), opened up to Entertainment Tonight about what fans could expect from her during the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show when they watch, and noted:
The stat is that 67% of American women are over the size 14. So, I am so proud to be representing that 67% out there. Things are gonna be bouncing; things are gonna be moving. There’s gonna be a little cellulite here and there. And you know what? I’m owning it. And I’m owning it for everybody that’s watching.
Obviously, a look at an average runway show or fashion magazine is unlikely to give us the most realistic representation of what most American women look like, though we certainly see a wider range of humanity now than we did even in 2016, when Graham became the first full-figured model to stun on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover.
This is one of the reasons that she’s joined other stars like Jamie Lee Curtis, Kelly Clarkson and Selena Gomez in clapping back at body shamers and trying to broaden the scope of what we see in magazines and on runways. And, few can argue with having her as an ambassador after seeing what she brought to the show:
The Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge host looks amazing, right? I know you’re probably thinking that her body looks pretty “perfect” (though there is no such thing) from a typical societal standard point of view, so let’s take a gander at a closer view to see some of what Graham was talking about:
Guys? Look closely at her belly and thighs, and what do you see? That’s right, folks…the lady is showing off her stretch marks and a bit of cellulite! Both are incredibly common (you don’t have to be a woman or have been pregnant to get them) for people of all types, but are looked down on and seen as undesirable physical traits to be hidden, and even ashamed of, whether they show or not. Graham, though, is happy to go into future runway work and ad campaigns letting the reality of her body show. Hopefully, it really will help everyone feel better about themselves.