Ashley Graham showcases plus-size lingerie collection in Toronto

ABOVE: Watch Ashley Graham on Global Toronto’s The Morning Show.

TORONTO — Ashley Graham, who made headlines this month for being the first plus-size model featured in an advertisement in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, is in Canada on Friday to promote her collection of lingerie for “real” women.

Graham’s size 16 figure is showcased in an ad for Swimsuits For All in the pages of Sports Illustrated.

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(Sports Illustrated featured size 12 model Robyn Lawley — considered “plus-size” in the fashion industry — in a photo spread in the swimsuit issue.)

“It’s an exciting time,” Graham said Friday in Toronto. “It’s the curvy girl era and it’s necessary.”

Graham, 27, said she represents average-size women.

“Media really has turned it so negatively about how you have to be thin and you have to be perfectly fit and you have to look a certain way,” she said during an appearance on the Toronto edition of Global’s The Morning Show.

“I’m here to break a mold and let people know flaws are in, curves are in. It’s not about being perfect. It’s about being who you are.”

Graham said for the first time, her collection at Addition Elle includes some bras with cup sizes up to G and H.

Graham is appearing in person Friday from 5 to 7 pm at the Addition Elle store at Yonge and Queen.