Felicity Hayward will attend every show during the upcoming London Fashion Week, which gets underway on Friday. She will be keeping track of how many plus-size models walk the runways. This influencer believes that "beauty doesn't have a size" and is extremely proud of her XXL figure.  Hayward made her fashion debut in 2012 when a well-known photographer unexpectedly saw her in London.  Since then, she has starred in several commercial campaigns and gained notoriety for her efforts to increase the representation of women in the fashion industry. Social media users liked the hashtags #selflovebringsbeauty and more recently #includingthecurves.

Hayward also found time to publish her book "Does My Butt Look Big in This? : A Body Positive Manifesto," which has a picture of her on the cover wearing a form-fitting leopard-print outfit.  Hayward, who was raised in a hamlet in the east of England, began her career educating autistic youngsters, far from the world of fashion.  To make additional money, she also worked at a pub. It was then when photographer Miles Aldridge contacted her while hunting for a blonde, voluptuous lady. She jumped at the chance because she had studied his work in college and agreed to the 20-hour shoot. "When it was published it went viral," explained Hayward. "The photographer had never used plus-size models or a curvy woman in his work, he always used very, very thin women."

The situation gradually became out of control, and a modelling agency got involved. She said, "I assumed it was a joke. I was placed in a situation where women and girls my age didn't really have a place to call their own. In July 2013, she was the subject of a story headlined "Bringing Back the Bombshell" in the fashion magazine British Vogue. She has since worked in commercials for The Body Shop, Mac Cosmetics, and other companies. She has also been on the covers of ID and Glamour.  Hayward, who is 35 years old, describes herself as an influencer, and it was in this role that she received frequent invitations to fashion events. She nevertheless chose to boycott London Fashion Week in 2019. "They were using me to be on the front row... to give the exposure for their brands," she said.

But many of the brands did not produce clothes in her size, so she reasoned: "If you don't do my size with should I support you?" From now on, she only physically goes to the fashion shows of brands offering clothes in her size, which is a US size 16. Instead she follows hundreds of fashion shows in New York, Milan and Paris on the internet, counting the number of curvy models. New York usually fares best, but she only spotted 31 plus-size models in February's shows, compared with 49 in September 2022, out of a total of around 3,000, according to her estimates.