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In her recently unedited online swimsuit campaign, Beach Body Not Sorry, Denise divulged that the photo shoot wasn’t actually meant to be released without editing.
Denise is aware of her flaws, like her stretch marks and cellulite, saying even models are not perfect.
“It was just such a beautiful shoot,” she said. “They must have seen something they didn’t know they were going to see. I am so happy they saw that in me and thought I was perfect just the way I am.”
But she has no regrets. For her, “It is about being confident in your own skin.” She was also glad that other women were able to see the real her.
She added. “It is such a huge problem that women are so programmed to feel that only one way is beautiful. We just need women to be empowered and to be kind to each other and to be kind to ourselves. No one is going to love you the way you love yourself.”
Growing up, she witnessed how her mother struggled with her weight and experienced yo-yo dieting.
Now she wants women to understand that “there is no perfect woman” and that they should “choose to live in the moment.”
At the backstage during the New York Fashion Week last September 2015, the size 14 model who walked the runway for Chromat and Serena Williams Signature Statement Collection was so ecstatic for the warm welcome she received not just from the audience but from the queen of fashion herself, Anna Wintour.
For being referred as a plus-size model, Denise doesn’t have a problem with the label. She said, “I am a curvy woman. I am a size 14. I am proud to be curvy and be plus-size and have a place in this industry.”