Tess Holliday leads the first ever Curve Catwalk at London Fashion Week

On Thursday night, seven women of all different body shapes kicked off London Fashion Week in Simply Be’s “Curve Catwalk” — the first of its kind.

Led by size 26 model Tess Holliday, who recently hit back at claims she’s promoting obesity, the models strutted down the runway in stunning florals, velvet and sequins — and they also wore T-shirts emblazoned with their clothing size.

Size 22 model Callie Thorpe also walked the runway, as did amputee model Kelly Knox (who also stunned at Friday’s Teatum Jones show).

The Curve Catwalk, hosted in London’s Soho, was described as “a celebration showing that fashion is for everyone regardless of size or shape.”

Recently, Simply Be conducted a study which found that 89 per cent of its customers didn’t feel their size was represented in advertising, on runways or in media. The study also revealed that more than 50 per cent felt “ignored” by high street when it comes to clothing displays and adverts.

“This isn’t about thin shaming – we just think it’s time we saw more diversity in terms of size in magazines, in advertising campaigns and on runways at fashion weeks around the globe,” said Angela Spindler, chief executive of N Brown Group, the owners of Simply Be.

“Fashion should not be defined by ability, size, age, colour or gender choice,” added Knox, who is the U.K.’s leading model with a disability. “Fashion is for everybody.”

Click through the slideshow to see photos from the show, and let us know what you think in the comments.

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