Ashley Graham continues to smash norms in the world of high fashion, and we are all for it. In her latest YouTube video, the 33-year-old model shares her thoughts about working nine months after giving birth to her first child, Isaac.
“It’s just nice to be back in fashion,” Graham reports from her hotel room in Italy. (We should note that the Milan Fashion Week was in September but hey—give her a break! First-time motherhood keeps her busy.) “Fendi was the first show that happened…so it was just such an honor to be a part of it.”
Graham noted she was scheduled to walk the Etro show the following day, and that she was already prepared for backlash. “I’m sure the trolls will come for my cellulite but I really don’t care,” she says. “I’m still 25 pounds up postpartum and I’m walking Milan Fashion Week so if you have something to say…are YOU on the runway?”
As we know, Graham has always been an outspoken proponent of body positivity. In 2016, she was the first size-16 model to land the cover of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue. But now that she’s proven that you don’t need to be a size 2 to make clothes look good, she’s inadvertently taken on a second cause: advocating for working moms.
“I had the maternity leave that I never thought I’d have and now I’m so grateful that I’m working,” continues Graham. She points out that her biggest victory of the week was not on the runway but behind the scenes.
“Just continuing to pump and keep my milk supply up even though it was really annoying, there was also something incredibly empowering about it,” she says. “Because I know that I’m still doing something for my son even though I’m away…I’m doing something to nourish him and I just feel proud of myself that I wasn’t just going to give up because I was gonna be gone for five days.”
Graham even includes a quick clip of herself pumping backstage, proving that she’s the ultimate multitasker. Check out the entire vid below.
