Making moves! Ali Tate Cutler will be the first plus-sized beauty to appear in Victoria’s Secret, thanks to her campaign with Bluebella Lingerie. The retailer has received backlash for their lack of inclusivity, so adding the brunette beauty to their catalog is definitely moving VS toward a more body inclusivity place. So, who is Ali and why is she a great fit to appear alongside the fashion brand? Keep reading to learn more about her.
The model admitted exclusively to Life & Style that she was “booked directly on the job” for the lingerie company without having to go through a casting process. “I’m just excited to be part of this new chapter for VS, and I really hope diversity in fashion continues to be the norm,” she explained.
The newly minted Bluebella babe added that beauty is more than skin deep. “Body positivity is so important because [it’s] time we love our bodies in order to transcend them. It’s our character and the people we are in the world that truly matter,” she said.
She shared the news with her followers and praised the company for moving forward. “I believe I’m the first size 14 on @victoriassecret? Regardless I’m pretty stoked to work with a brand I idolized when I was a teen. Great step in the right direction for bodies,” Ali wrote on social media to announce Victoria’s Secret’s new partnership with lingerie line Bluebella on October 5.
The beauty is represented by Milk and Muse Model Management and is also the host of “The Love You Give” podcast, which covers various lifestyle topics from sex to building a business.
She recently opened up about what it meant to be “plus-sized” in a world where beauty norms have a lot to do with the number on the scale. “Getting real about how I never acknowledged my body when I was younger because I never wanted people to really look at mine and realize I was fat. I thought if I didn’t acknowledge it, no one would notice,” she admitted on Instagram on October 7 about a conversation she had with the mother-daughter team StyleLikeU.
She continued to explain that dabbling in the world of fashion helped her appreciate the skin she was in. “Then when I started ‘plus-size’ modeling, I had so many mixed feelings because now everyone knew I was the very thing I had been trying to hide. The most beautiful thing happened after I had been modeling for a while and started seeing models who were above size 14s that were unbelievably gorgeous,” Ali divulged. “The programming in my mind started rewiring and I realized I too could be gorgeous, at any size. Editing the people you follow and surround yourself with does wonders.”
Victoria’s Secret also announced in August that they hired their first transgender model — Valentina Sampaio. Hopefully, this year will bring the refresh that the brand has needed. Ali and Valentina seem like a great start!