Felicity Hayward has had a “turbulent relationship” with fashion.
The 35-year-old model and body positivity activist believes the industry is in a “much better position” regarding offering people of all shapes and sizes more options to dress in, but has also experienced the other end of the scale and felt outcast as a plus-size woman.
She told Cosmopolitan: “My relationship with fashion has been like a turbulent relationship with a partner, if I’m being brutally honest. I’ve had really good moments where I’ve felt really loved, and then other times, I felt like I had been gaslit and pushed to the side and not accepted. I’ve been a model for over 12 years now so I’ve really seen the industry change through that time, from when plus-size clothing didn’t really exist, to the huge ‘golden era’ of body positivity when everyone was making collections that had extended sizes, to then brands taking a U-turn. It’s been emotional, to say the least. I do think that we are in a much better position now than we were 10 years ago.”
Felicity has launched a size-inclusive line with Simply Be and she believes body confidence comes from feeling comfortable.
She shared: “My style is ‘50s Hollywood glamour mixed with ‘90s Anna Nicole Smith – in trainers. It’s bold glam meets athleisure chic. Since Covid, I’m just in comfy shoes now. Everyone is wearing Sambas or Gazelles, but I actually can’t wear them because I can’t wear flat shoes. I need arch support! So I’m wearing Adidas SL72s.
“I truly believe that when people feel comfortable, that’s where body confidence comes from. No one feels confident in an outfit that doesn’t fit properly. So many times, plus-size women in particular, like myself or my friends, we try and fit ourselves into smaller clothing because there’s no other option for us. In a plus-size scenario, clothing needs to be in the right size. All clothing, not just loungewear, should be comfortable because there should be clothing available for all of us in our sizes. We all should be catered for.
The plus size industry gets trends a lot later than the core range. It would be amazing to get to a place where that isn’t the case. That was one of the main things [I thought about] with my Simply Be edit, I wanted to have a collection that had something for everybody.”