#DropThePlus-Models 1 Curve April 2015 Karmi Pinning, Charlotte Quita Jones, Iskra Lawrence and Anna FritzdorfBritish modeling agency Models 1 puts its Curve girls in the spotlight, lensed without Photoshop by Michelle George. Curve writes that the Photoshoot was the idea of the girls themselves, that they wanted to be shot in their ‘most true and natural form’. By abandoning retouching or air brushing, the four models Karmi Pinning, Charlotte Quita Jones, Iskra Lawrence and Anna Fritzdorf are trying to bring a more authentic conversation to the world of beauty and fashion.

Photographer Michelle George talks about the project, explaining:

As a photographer, I work a lot with models of diverse shapes and sizes, yet what I’ve found with curvier models, is that they are often pigeonholed and either used in editorial in a tokenistic gesture, or the style of shoot is limited to either sexy pin up or lifestyle. What I want to show in this shoot is that that these girls are in fact naturally beautiful and can be used across the board, without being labelled as curvy or plus size. With all the recent controversy over the numerous, leaked, unretouched images of celebrities, I also felt it was important to be honest and show these girls unretouched in their natural form.

I feel very strongly, as a woman, that we need to empower each other and show that beauty is not defined by size. We need to start to push these boundaries and reach outside the tightly closed box of the fashion industry and embrace our beauty in its holistic, raw form.

This idea is really about showing the confidence you can have in your own body and not having to rely on retouching.

While this project highlights the fact that the four models are unretouched, it also embraces the idea of pushing back on a separate category of ‘plus size’ models. Hence the hash tag #JustAModel. The girls share their thoughts about beauty and body love in our Photoshop world.

Anna Fritzdorf

To me this idea is really about showing the confidence you can have in your own body and not having to rely on retouching. Especially as we’re not straight sized models people may think we have more retouching than everyone else but that is not the case… You can be beautiful and confident in your own skin.

Curve 1 model Anna Fritzdorf by Michelle George.

Charlotte Quita Jones

I am so proud to be part of a photoshoot that I can say is 100% unretouched. In these pictures, we are what we are; curvy, healthy, unique women.Hopefully this shoot will encourage the limitation of retouching in the future and both men & women who compare themselves to what they see in magazines will no longer need an unrealistic and unattainable goal

Curve 1 model Charlotte Quita Jones by Michelle George

Karmi Pinning

Unretouched is important to me as it is an honest representation woman. It shows us in a very natural way that highlights you can be beautiful without retouching or over the top hair/ makeup. As plus models we’re a new generation of role models for young girls, this raw shoot is a great way to inspire body confidence and enhanced natural beauty.

Curve 1 model Karmi Pinning by Michelle GeorgeIskra Lawrence

In the fashion industry I have experienced harsh critique regarding my size and shape this forced me to really look at myself and who I am. I took time to educate myself on health fitness and self-esteem. Now I empower and build up other women as well as counsel young girls with eating disorders through my charitable work with NEDA. I believe #everyBODYisbeautiful and I have a responsibility to make a difference and help represent young girl who need a wider range of models representing them.

Curve 1 model Iskra Lawrence by Michelle Georgevia