Back in 2008, the Models Direct team tuned into America’s Next Top Model to see a first – a plus size model winning.

Of course, it was none other than Whitney Thompson, who, because of her positive influence on the thin-supremacist fashion industry, was noted by Lifestyle MSN as one of the ‘Most Influential Women of 2008’.

Since winning the 10^th cycle of the modelling competition, the plus size beauty has gone on to bag some impressive modelling jobs, including shooting a Covergirl commercial with Rihanna and covering Plus Model Magazine.

Thompson is also an ambassador for the National Eating Disorders Association. But what we want to know is whether she believes that fashionable images of plus-size models can undo some of the damage created by a fashion world dominated by skinny models?

Luckily for us, judgmentofparis.com asked the blonde bombshell just that. “Oh, 100%,” she said. “People really define what their idea of beauty is by what they see in the media. And then you put me out there, well, I’m normal, and relatable. It’s achievable. Whereas putting Posh Spice on the cover is not. It’s just not good. Not good for anybody.”

The publication went on to ask the model what she thinks can be done to encourage the industry to feature and market full-figured models: “A lot of it is already changing, but it’s about the designers. And another thing too is that the designers really follow each other. If Louis Vuitton uses a curvy girl, then Dolce & Gabbana is going to use a curvy girl, because you don’t want to be the last to do it, and it’s great publicity,” she said.

“The people that they’re selling the clothes to don’t like seeing skeletons walk down the runway in their clothes. It’s not attractive. It doesn’t make me want to buy a dress. What it comes down to, it’s really just… It’s the designers, at the end of the day. Each one has their own opinion. One at a time will be changing.”