News: College students’ creative flair helps bring body positive campaign to life

Our art students have joined forces with a leading national retailer to encourage women to love themselves regardless of their shape or size.

Through a voluntary student life drawing workshop, plus sized bloggers were used as life models by women’s plus sized fashion brand, Yours Clothing, to reinforce their campaign (* which starts today).

The learners used their artistic abilities to help influence the brand’s customers to love who they are and understand that there’s no wrong way to have a body.

Speaking of the campaign, Herbert Wiersa, the College’s Faculty Area Manager for Creative, Access, HE & Employability, who led the workshop said:

“Body positivity is about feeling comfortable in yourself regardless of who you are. As somebody who has done a lot of life drawing over the years, I’ve worked with people of all shapes and sizes. When you get in a life drawing situation, actually you drop all preconceptions that you have as you’re out in the world and you’re down to basics of who you are in the space, how you occupy the space and how you relate to somebody who is looking at you objectively.”

In the campaign, bloggers share the heartfelt experiences they have had as a result of being larger sized. They take us on journeys of self-love and by being involved in the campaign they intend to inspire women to “love every inch of themselves.”

Hollie Burgess, a Blogger said:

“You’re allowed to take up space, feel beautiful and be confident. Believe in yourself, give yourself a break and remember that you only live once. Enjoy your life right now, take those little risks and go outside of your comfort zone. Don’t wait until your body looks different, do it now! If you start to love yourself, slowly, you’ll realise you’re beautiful the way you are.”

In order to make the body confidence and self-love movement contagious, Yours Clothing have adopted the hashtag #takethepledge.

Women are encouraged to join Yours Clothing and take the pledge. They are encouraged to “pledge to love yourself and empower your friends and family to love themselves too.”

To take part in the pledge, people can:

1. Upload a photo you feel great in and hashtag #takethepledge
2. Tag five friends in your photo that are beautiful to you
3. Pass it on! #takethepledge

Yours Clothing have also acquired the support of over 30 plus-sized bloggers who will be releasing a photo today (4th January 2018) using the hashtag #takethepledge with the aim to encourage their followers to do the same and spread the message of body confidence and self-love.

You can find out more about our Art and Design courses here