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Dubliner one of three plus size models to walk in Toronto Fashion Week

A Dublin model who’s felt too big and too thin has had the last laugh as she was one of just three plus-size models who got to walk in prestigious Toronto Fashion Week earlier this month

Tia Duffy admits she received stinging comments in the past about her figure but is now on a mission to make the fashion industry more diverse and help people to embrace their bodies

The 29-year-old told The Irish Mirror: “When I started modelling I couldn’t have seen myself working on the international stage.

“I remember when I started out I was working at a hair competition and someone said to me I was a bit big to be a model.

“I was only 19 and it really stuck with me because I did have body image issues during my teenage years.

“I’m only a size 12-14 though and when I realised fashion brands me plus-size I thought that has to change.”

Tia, who’s based in Toronto, added: “Nobody ever told me to lose weight, though that’s happened to people I know.

“I was told when I lived in New York that I was too skinny to be plus-size and other times I felt like I was too big.

“I was determined not to drop out of modelling for that reason though, I don’t want to change myself or to lose or gain weight to please clients.

“We should own our bodies, I’m curvy, that’s who I am.”

Tia has founded Be Body Aware, which promotes diversity and models of all shapes, sizes and races.

She said: “We want to send out a positive message and make people aware of photoshop and subliminal messages.

“Toronto Fashion Week is a huge thing here and I noticed they didn’t have any plus-size models.

“I approached designers but at first nobody answered but as my profile rose they did.

“I walked Fashion Week for Lesley Hampton, she’s an amazing young designer who’s going to be huge.

“She’s the only one who used plus-size models during Toronto Fashion Week, she has also worked with amputee and cancer survivor models before, she wants to represent everyone.

“In the past I used to be a bit intimidated by fashion week and all the thin models but this felt different and so positive.”

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