Top model Robyn Lawley brushes off ‘plus size’ label ahead of Australian Fashion Week first

Robyn Lawley has long fought being described as “plus size”, but ahead of Australian Fashion Week’s first ever size 12 and up event she says she no longer “gives a damn”.

Top Australian model Robyn Lawley says she is done with labels.

After fighting being categorised as ‘plus size’, Lawley says she no longer cares what people call her.

“To be honest, I am in my 30s now and I don’t give a damn what you call me,” Lawley told The Daily Telegraph.

“You can call me whatever you want, it doesn’t affect me anymore because I know who I am. So if you want to call me plus size to make me feel different or to make yourself feel better, go for it. I just want to be represented.”

Lawley’s sizing ranges between a 14 and 16, although she can “sometimes in some designers squeeze into a 12”.

Robyn Lawley is back in Sydney for Afterpay Australian Fashion Week, featuring in The Curve Edit show. Picture: David Swift

The 32-year-old flew in to Sydney from New York early Sunday and will be one of the star models on the catwalk at Afterpay Australian Fashion Week at Carriageworks in Eveleigh.

She will lead the Curve Edit show on Thursday, showcasing the work of designers including Zaliea, Harlow, and 17 Sundays. It is the first time in the 26 year history of the event that a show has been dedicated to women size 12 and over.

Similarly, organisers have included an Adaptive Clothing Collective show and multiple shows representing First Nation designers on the schedule, alongside big name labels like Bianca Spender, Michael Lo Sordo, Aje and Bec + Bridge.

“I just didn’t like the term plus size because I thought it made people feel different and I didn’t want women to see my body and think, ‘if she is plus size, what am I?’. I just didn’t like the terminology,” the mother of a seven-year-old daughter explained.

“I understand those women that haven’t been represented feel anger and own the word ‘plus’. I think we will get to a point in a few years where there will just be models and that is where we’ve wanted to be my whole career.”