Italian Model Mjriam Bon Talks About The Real Pressure To Stay Thin In The Modeling World, True Beauty, and New Beginnings

Photographed by Ralph Geiling

Mjriam Bon was born in Venice, Italy. She is a top plus model in Italy and travels throughout both Italy and Europe for her job. She did the first Elena Mirò show in Milano and models for catalogs and catwalks for Ferrè, Marina Rinaldi, Krizia, Mariella Burani, BTF, and all the biggest fashion designers in Italy and Europe.  

Photographed by Desdemona Varon

How do you define beauty? 

Beauty begins from within; it shines from our soul. For me, beauty is also self-awareness and it is accepting my faults.

How do you stay healthy?

I live a healthy lifestyle; I take care of myself. I eat seasonal, organic, healthy food and I drink lots of water every day. I eat when I’m hungry, and I follow my body’s needs and desires. I usually go to the gym to work out. I have only one vice… chocolate! I love it and I eat it every day!

What skin care regimen do you follow?

I always take my make up off. I only use mascara, blush, and always lip balm (when I’m not modeling). I take care of my skin with good products; cream, make up remover, and toner. I also use moisturizing creams for my body.

Photographed by Sandro Brant

Please tell us about your shoot for the “I’m Not a Fashion Victim” campaign.

I’m Not A Fashion Victim is a campaign against eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, and obesity. It’s a self-produced and self-financed campaign. We are six plus-size models called the Curvy Can.  Curvy Can means that you can be in the fashion business without being a size zero. We did our ‘curves’ a strength. I’m really happy with what I’ve been able to accomplish with my career.

I have made the personal decision that this year will be my last year in beauty. I want to help people who suffer from eating disorders. I have modeled for many years; I think that modeling is like a circle, which at some point needs to close. I’m young enough to start a new project and a new life — doing something different. The fashion world is beautiful, but the perception of life and reality is out of phase…I need to come down to earth.

What advice would you offer to aspiring plus-size models?

The most important thing was not skill, but for me it was to be in the right place at the right time. I know it may seem a rhetorical discourse…but it’s my truth and my personal experience.

Photographed by Andrea Favarin

Have you ever struggled with self-esteem or body image issues in the past? If so, how did you reach the point of accepting and loving your body as it is?

When I was fourteen years old, I met a model and she introduced me to the world of fashion. I was very young and skinny. I started as a “regular” model for Milano Fashion Week and Prêt a Porter. Soon, I started to feel my body change. It was very hard for me to maintain the low weight and (most of all) the measurements to stay a size zero. My agent asked me to lose weight;  if I didn’t that meant that I couldn’t work.

I started to suffer from eating disorders. I deprived myself of many things. I lived with other models and we forced each other to eat only once per day. Fortunately, I couldn’t live without food and I stopped modeling…I was 23.

I was an actress for two years and attended acting school in Rome, but that world was too difficult for me. There were too many compromises and too many people to accommodate.

My life changed for the better when I discovered the plus-size modeling world!

Photographed by Desdemona Varon

What are you excited about right now?

Right now, I’m excited to find my way… I’m doing things I didn’t have time to do before; I paint and I write. I have an apartment in Venice and I stay with my parents and friends sometimes.

I live a beautiful life and enjoy the simple things. I want to become a wife and mother someday.

Italian Plus Model: Valentina Fogliani is Passionate About Being Healthy & Promoting Positive Body Image.

Photographed by Ferdinando Serra

Valentina Fogliani is from Modena, Italy. She has lived in Milan for the past six years as a successful plus-size model.

Before Valentina started her modeling career she participated in the “Miss Italia” beauty contest as a size twelve. The organizers told her that she was “a little fat.” She was young and wanted to become a model so she lost weight. She was a successful “straight” model, but she seriously sacrificed her health to stay a slim size.

Valentina said, “For me it was a very strong sacrifice to resist food and stay a slim size that didn’t represent my real personality or body type and in 2004/2005 I became a plus-size model. I started to feel better and my job was so much more wonderful and exciting than before.”

She has posed for many fantastic clients and recently posed for photographer Luca Patrone for the Curvy Can “I’m Not A Fashion Victim” campaign. The campaign helps support positive body image and draws awareness to eating disorders.

The  Italian plus models (left to right) Marina Ferrari, Valentina Fogliani, Elisa D”Ospina, Mjriam Bon, Eleonora Finazzer, and Latvian plus model Aija Barzdina, all came together to pose for photographer Luca Patrone for the Curvy Can “I’m Not A Fashion Victim” Campaign.

Please tell us about your shoot for the “I’m Not a Fashion Victim” campaign.

In September, after a shooting with my friends Aija, Mjriam, Elisa, and Marina, I felt the need to do something about alimentary disorders like obesity, bulimia, and anorexia. We are plus-size Italian models and we are so happy to be like that. We are happy to work in fashion with our bodies the way they are. I thought it was important to do a campaign, which represents our beauty without the filter of skinny fashion. Our beauty is the beauty of all girls and women who aren’t submitting to the fashion style size. Our campaign tells our story — we feel better now with our curves!!! I suffered of bulimia for four years so for me personally, this message is very important!

How do you define beauty?

For me beauty is a mix of elegance and “savoir faire,” which is not tied to appearance, but is inside of us all. Sometimes I feel full of beauty only because I am happy. For me, beauty is when my body and my soul feel in harmony.

Photographed by Ferrantini

What advice would you give to girls and women, who are struggling with body image and self-esteem issues?

I would like to tell girls that it is very important that we accept our body. To be beautiful we do not need to be skinny like models or look like societies stereotype of beauty. Each person has a different personality and a different body. We should all be unique!!!

Are you currently modeling outside of Europe also, if no, do you hope to model internationally?

Usually, I work in Italy, but sometime I model in London (where I have an agency who represents me) or in Germany. I would like to expand my modeling outside of Italy to places such as Europe and the USA!

What do you like most about modeling?

I think the most interesting thing about modeling is traveling and to meeting strange and interesting people!
I prefer the plus-size modeling world because as a plus-size model I am happier. We can eat what we want, we don’t become sad or anxious about our weight, and we can also work if we have children. I have met a lot of plus models who do shoots during their pregnancy. I think this world is more “human” than fashion skinny!

Sinyus Photopgrapher

Tell us about your involvement with Teatro-Cucina.

This is the show of my company Theatre “Teatro in Povere” and I am an actress in Teatro-Cucina. This is a show with three actors and a musician. We offer food to guests during the show. The show is a beautiful mix of food and theatre emotions. Teatro-Cucina is a show I love because it tells a life story of human beings, love, and food. These are all things necessary to live a very good life.

I was “regular” model until 2004. I suffered a lot as a skinny size, because my body conformation was not so skinny. I had bulimia for four years from 2002 through 2006. I found a way to accept my body through acting and performing. I started to see my soul and not only my appearance as a skinny or not skinny body.

What are you excited about right now?

I hope to travel with our project and our “I’m Not A Fashion Victim” campaign. I think it is very important to visit schools and to speak about bulimia and anorexia because teenagers are victims of those disorders! I hope we can speak about our campaign on television, radio, and in magazines because it is so important that people know about us and about those very dangerous disorders such as bulimia and anorexia!

Photographed by Ferdinando Serra

*Valentina, thank you for sharing your personal story with us and the world. We applaud your passion to reach out to girls and women!

We would love to hear from our readers! Is there a special topic you would like us to cover? Do you have a story you would like to share? We are here for you!

Italian Plus Model Elisa D’Ospina is Not a Fashion Victim!

There are only a few articles written in English about plus model, Elisa D’Ospina, and we are thrilled to be able to share this interview with you! Elisa was born June 19, 1983 in Vicenza, Italy. She is an international health campaigner, spokesperson for the Italian Ministry of Health, and involved in many high-profile campaigns such as Curvy Can.

The picture below is from the latest Curvy Can ad campaign. Curvy Can is an Italian based organization with the goal of promoting positive body image and raising awareness about eating disorders. The beautiful Italian plus models are (from left to right): Eleanora Finazzer, Mjriam Bon, Elisa D’Ospina, Marina Ferrari, Latvian model Aija Barzdina, and lying down, Valentina Fogliani.

Photographed by Luca Patrone

How and when did you begin modeling?

I started three years ago, thanks to my mother. She found an advertisement in which an Italian agency was looking for plus-size models. I sent in my photos and after a while, they called me for a fashion show. That is how my career began.

How do you define beauty?

It’s a woman who is not afraid of what nature has given her. She loves her femininity and curves, and wants to be fashionable.

What advice would you give to aspiring plus-size models?

I would tell women to believe in themselves and accept a few kilos more. It is not easy to become a plus-size model, but with some determination and sacrifice, it can be done 🙂

Photograph is backstage the Curvy Can photo shoot

What does being healthy mean to you?

We must always have an eye for our health. Our body sends us signals daily. Curves are healthy.

What advice would you give to girls and women, who are struggling with body image and self-esteem issues?

Do not go through it alone, but with the help of specialists, doctors, etc. For example, to avoid diets and DIY (do it yourself restrictions), which destroy your metabolism. Have a regular life, do sports, and participate in all activities that are good for your body and spirit.

You are a well known plus model in Italy. Do you plan to model globally?

I hope to have the chance to model globally. For now, I am already proud to work throughout Europe. Because I have started this long journey, every little step is an achievement.

What is your most memorable modeling experience?

The most beautiful thing that has happened to me has been to become a spokesperson for the Italian Ministry of Health. It has been an incredible honor! I did a campaign with some of my colleagues against eating disorders. I think that public figures should always send a positive message to people.

You can visit Elisa’s website or Facebook for more information.

www.elisadospina.com

Fan Club on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/group.php?gid=295137077495&ref=ts