From Kate Upton to Barbie Ferreira and now British Asian model Bishamber Das - plus size models are taking the fashion world by storm.

Bishamber is the UK’s first Asian plus size model to break into the fashion industry.

Asian Image:

By day the 29-year-old works in child protection and was the youngest female Asian magistrate in the country.  She is now the face of Yours Clothing across all their stores in the Middle East. 

Bishamber reveals how her size 18-20 curves have helped break beauty stereotypes.
“I decided to take part in the Miss India Europe contest, simply because they did not have size criteria for entrants.  I thought I may as well give it a go.

“I ended up becoming second runner up and winning the title Miss Photogenic.
“That gave me so much encouragement to pursue this field.

“Because there are no Asian plus size models in the UK, there was no-one to inspire me. I had to carve my own way.

“The Asian magazines are still only interested in fair skinned slim models. In fact, so many models in Asian publications are white models dressed up in Asian clothes!

Asian Image:

“As a result I had to pursue modelling on my own, contact companies by myself. That’s why I feel proud of my success.

“I have achieved things that models have been seeking for years.

“I’ve brought diversity to the industry.”

Along with Bishamber’s success has come an uncomfortable amount of negativity and trolling, something she admits she can only dismiss now after years of mindless criticism.

“I receive a huge amount of support for representing ‘normal’ women. There’s nothing more satisfying than hearing a girl say that she feels comfortable in her own skin after seeing my modelling.

“At the same time people are still very negative towards me because of my size.

“All my life I have been told by elders in the community that I am pretty, but too overweight.
“There’s nothing worse than being told repeatedly that no-one will ever marry me because of my size.

“If you look at Bollywood, the bigger woman usually plays the comedy character- they’re always laughed at.

“There are always the uneducated idiots who leave rude and nasty comments online.

“This used to bother me a lot, and it has taken me a while to get to the stage where I don’t get upset by the comments and I actually feel sorry for the people who feel the need to be so rude.

“If I step on a scale and my numbers are higher, that does not mean I am any less worthy.
“I personally don’t find skinny attractive. At the same time, I am not promoting obesity. 

“I am endorsing the message that you should be comfortable within your own skin.”

Asian Image:

As thrilled as Bishamber is with her success she aims to continue to challenge perceptions of beauty throughout the world and to undermine unrealistic beauty standards perpetuated by fashion and the media.

“I realise it will be years before seeing plus sized models on the catwalk will become the norm.

“In the meantime I want to promote positive body images to perhaps set the tone for the future of catwalks.

“I was at Dubai Fashion show last week, and whilst it was a great show, they didn’t cater for the fuller figure.

“Asian bridal shows only ever want the slim models. 

“In Britain the plus-size industry is still growing. 

“Size and diversity is not being reflected amongst mainstream labels.”