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Tia Duffy

Meet, Tia Duffy, the Dublin model making waves in fashion industry for her #BeBodyAware campaign.

Hailing from Dublin, Tia now lives in Toronto, Canada, where she works as a plus-sized model.

Tia is committed to embracing and celebrating diversity in the world of fashion, and in a recent interview with Vouge Italia, she spoke about why she decided to start the project.

"I was told I was too big by casting directors and sometimes I was too small," she said.

"I noticed a niche for a project that brought education, psychology, diversity and fashion together. A project that would really challenge change through action, imagery and video."

"The launch of #BeBodyAware was to bring about a global psychological awareness and conversation of body image, ones own body and the images we are subject to in the media everyday. I just want everyone to be represented."

The project has caught the eye of some high-profile celebrities including, Kim Kardashian and Ashton Kutcher, who shared the campaign with millions of followers on Facebook.

As part of the initiative, Tia is directing a 50 photoshoot series with the aim of changing the images we see in the media.

"I want to reimagine fashion and recreate the images that we have been witnessing on billboards for decades."

In addition, the model is also collaborating on 50 runway shows in an effort to bring diversity to fashion shows around the world.

In the future Tia hopes to expand #BeBodyAware to TV and podcasts, as well as working closely with schools in order to integrate workshops into curriculums world wide.  

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Tia Duffy, Ireland’s leading plus-sized model, has just been taken on by the Plutino Group in Canada, she revealed today exclusively to SHEmazing! She was signed on the spot by managing director Cathy LeDrew, the highly-respected former booker at Ford Models.

Dubliner Tia Duffy has a new agent in Canada 

 

“I'm the only Irish model on the books and the agency has a few plus size models who regularly feature in magazines throughout the US and Canada,” Tia explains. “It's so fantastic to have representation from such a prestigious agency; I'm still on cloud nine.”

And the 26-year-old Dubliner has already had her first shoot with Plutino. “The styling over here is very different to Ireland,” she adds. “The shots need to be more natural with less make up.

“But the response to plus-size modelling and my look in general has been all positive so far.”

Modelling on location in New York

 

After successfully building her profile on home-soil, Tia, who is a size-14, says she’s been living out of a suitcase for the last month as she gets set up in Toronto. “It's been a struggle I'm not going lie but when I turn up on set to model I’m always reminded why I packed up and left everything to chase this dream.”

She has recently been working on location in the likes of Washington, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. She is also regularly in New York, and a plus-sized industry documentary starring Tia, Inside Skinny, begins shooting there soon.

Although she’s been involved in the industry for seven years, Tia got her first big break when she entered Simply Be’s plus-size search four years ago, beating thousands of entrants to win the competition. She’s represented by Assets in Ireland, but says in North America she’s still very much “a small fish in a big pond”.

Tia says she's still very much finding her feet

 

“Most agencies and castings are in the centre of the city in a back alley somewhere that has no name or number," Tia says of finding her feet in unfamiliar areas. "I usually leave two hours before my appointments because I ALWAYS get lost,” she laughs.

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