Joann Van Den Herik: Gigi and Bella Hadid's cousin named face of Debenhams lingerie
Plus size model Joann Van Den Herik believes strongly in promoting body positivity
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Your support makes all the difference.Gigi and Bella Hadid’s cousin has been named the new face and body of Debenhams lingerie.
Joann Van Den Herik is a 19-year-old model from The Netherlands.
Her father, Leo Van Den Herik, is the brother of Gigi and Bella Hadid’s mother, Yolanda Hadid.
Plus size model Van Den Herik believes strongly in promoting body positivity and so will now continue to do so by modelling the Debenhams SS18 Gorgeous DD+ lingerie collection.
“I think it’s very important to show all the boys and girls out there that size doesn’t matter and that you’re perfect the way you are,” she said.
“I translate that into my work as a model and on social media.”
Even though Van Den Herik may seem as though she’s the epitome of confidence, she has struggled with body image issues in the past.
“All my life I’ve been focussed on my weight,” she wrote in a recent Instagram post in which she compared two photos of herself, one that showed her dolled up and the other in a more natural light.
“I grew up thinking ‘fat’ is the worst thing you could be called by someone.
“But calling someone fat, says more about the person who said it, than about yourself.
“I love that you can see my imperfections, my fatrolls, my imperfect skin, my cellulite. Those are all my insecurities in one single picture.
“I’m happy I realised that my body is great and that ‘perfect’ doesn’t exist.”
Sharon Webb, head of buying and design for lingerie at Debenhams, is very pleased that Van Den Herik is modelling the Gorgeous DD+ lingerie range, which goes up to a 40HH cup size.
“Joann is a fantastic ambassador for our Gorgeous DD+ brand,” she said.
“Her positive attitude and body confidence message is incredibly inspirational and something that so many customers can relate to, we are so excited to be working with her.”
Van Den Herik regularly shares her views on supporting body positivity with her 58,000 Instagram followers.
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