Gigi Hadid tackles body shaming, poses for second British Vogue cover

If Gigi Hadid isn’t already seen as a positive role model in the fashion industry, then she definitely should now.

The 21-year-old model appears on the March cover of British Vogue and isn’t afraid to talk body critics in the accompanying interview.

Back in September 2015, Gigi posted an open letter on Instagram in response to a barrage of social media abuse targeting her ‘not thin enough’ body. “Yes, I have boobs, I have abs, I have a butt, I have thighs. Your mean comments don’t make me want to change my body,” she wrote.

In the new Vogue interview, Gigi talks about the overwhelming messages she got from other models in the industry: “The response was crazy. From Victoria’s Secret Angels to my friends who are considered plus size, everyone texted me and said they appreciated me saying something. The world puts so much pressure on fashion, then judges models for succumbing to that pressure.”

Gigi has had it harder than most. Although she has designed a successful collaboration with Tommy Hilfiger, the designer admitted that Gigi was put in a body-covering poncho at a 2015 show because she wasn’t as tall and thin as the other models.

These criticisms only serve to make Gigi more relatable – and successful. As well as walking for every major brand possible (including the much-coveted Victoria’s Secret show), she is the face of Maybelline, a brand ambassador for Reebok and all-over ‘real girl.’

She is also loved by fashion bible Vogue. This is her second cover for the British edition and thirteenth cover overall.

To all the trolls, Gigi has just one thing to say. Last year, she revealed how social media affects her just as much as everyone else. “We’re all human. I’ll never say that it doesn’t affect me. Sometimes it’s harder than others,” she commented in a Vogue podcast.

Yet another lesson in learning to think before you type.

You can now apply to be Vogue’s editor-in-chief

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