Karoline Bjornelykke was discovered as a model at the age of 15. She has worked for Chanel, Armani and Louis Vuitton, and has been hailed as a rising star in Vogue. But now she has revealed a well-kept industry secret on TikTok. Namely how the fashion industry meets the demands for models with "normal" figures. It is often not just chubby women who are booked to show plus sizes, but slim girls like Bjornelykke, she revealed on TikTok. She herself is said to have worked as an XXL model for five years.
fat suit
In order for petite bodies to fill sizes from XL to 5XL, the models have to wear "fat suits" made of pads, reveals Bjornelykke. "Anyone with eyes can see that I'm not that size. So how do we solve this problem? Well, basically I have to put on something called padding, which is basically a thick suit in pieces."
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Why is this done? Even if you want your bottom and thighs to be plump, you don't want to see a double chin. They prefer to take skinny women "because they want the neck and face to look really slim and sharp...which creates impossible standards of beauty," says Bjornelykke.
Slim face, plump body
"The fashion industry loves sharp faces as a standard of beauty, so I think they tend to prefer slim, sharp faces, even if they're plus-size models." She has worked with upholstery in the USA, GB and Germany. In the video clip, Bjornelykke shows how it works and stuffs himself with padding. "If that's not enough, just put everything in the back."
Plus sizes are the fastest growing fashion segment, so the need for models is great. Bjornelykke believes that the models are not to blame for this deception. "I don't think it's right to blame the models. If one model refuses the job, another just like them will take the job. The model doesn't know at all if it's going to be padded or not when it accepts the job."
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Unreal ideal of beauty
The revelation won't just make friends for Bjornelykke. But now she studies and only models on the side.
"I don't do these commercials anymore because I don't think it's right and I don't really need the money. The real power lies with the consumer. I want plus size women to be aware when they shop so they can make better choices and don't feel bad about seeing those impossible standards of beauty."
Source: Karoline Bjornelykke
