Vogue Germany’s May 2022 issue is devoted to “confidence'“, fronted by American beauty Grace Elizabeth. The former Victoria’s Secret model and new mom is styled by Elizabeth Fraser-Bell in Acne Studios, Desigual, Etro, Hunza G, Missoni, Prada [yellow sweater cover] Ralph Lauren, Stella Jean, The Attico, Tom Ford and more. Photographer Paul Wetherell [IG] is in the studio, with creative direction by Jan-Nico Meyer./ Hair by Shon Hyungsun Ju; makeup by Lisa Eldridge

Maria Hunstig interviews the top model in ‘Motherhood, mental strength and the courage to change.’

As a new mom to son Noah, Grace Elizabeth [IG] took the step of posting images of her body on Instagram at the end of March. "Just so I'm clear: I HAVE sagging skin. I HAVE stretch marks. And I'm proud of my body. It got me through 25 years of life and created a new one. I'm beyond proud of those stretch marks," she told her followers, with pictures to emphasize her point.

This earlier posited video also elicited a lot of flack in Grace Elizabeth’s direction for basically creating a story that didn’t exist. To most people, she looks fabulous, with no basis for feeling insecure.

In the ongoing discussion of younger women and mental health — including the impact of social media on their lives — Grace Elizabeth is honest about her own challenges.

Most people agree that social media is not a forgiving place. Some researchers posit a direct line between social media and skyrocketing suicide rates among teenagers. Suicide is now the leading cause of death among teens, with brand new research looking at 14 states.

Most agree that social media is a factor, but at least in America, the avalanche of school shootings could also be a driver in increasing suicide rates. While increasing also in a COVID world, I’m reading European stats around teen suicide that have risen — but not anywhere near America’s rate.

From Grace Elizabeth’s point of view about social media, she says:

I don't want to be ridiculed by people who don't even know me.

In fact, models have been judged for a long time — so perhaps it’s just worse. Before our dear Carine Roitfeld famously got out the scale to weigh in models and render judgement. Today, getting by Carine and Anna is only the first step in the fashion relay race. A hyper-critical social media audience is waiting to criticize models once the fashion shoot goes public.

Grace Elizabeth asks for nuance and restraint: