Iskra Lawrence shares old 'airbrushed' modelling photo warning about body confidence

'Perfect does not exist'

Iskra Lawrence ( Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

Iskra Lawrence has made a name for herself as a body positivity campaigner. The Kidderminster-born model has amassed almost 3.5 million followers on Instagram for her natural and airbrush-free photos that speak out about body-shaming and bullying. However, a recent post was a break in the norm for Lawrence, but still held an important message.

On Monday, the size 14 model shared a seven-year-old photo of herself modelling lingerie. The photos appear to be heavily airbrushed and Lawrence looks almost unrecognisable.

“I might look different because I was a few dress sizes smaller but the main difference is… I’m HEAVILY retouched,” she wrote in the post.

From the smoothness of her skin to the hair extensions to the push-up bra to the apparent digital manipulation of her arms, waist and legs, Lawrence dissected the picture to reveal how much work and alteration can go into these kinds of shots.

“The worst thing about it… I wanted to look like this! Yep I thought if I had perfect images (like the ones I saw of other models) that I would book more jobs = would make me happy and successful.

“When, in reality, seeing retouched images of myself gave me even more insecurities and body image issues because I couldn’t even look like or relate to the image.”

Lawrence, 26, pleaded with her followers to not compare themselves with models they see in stores or magazines and said striving for perfection will not make anyone happy.

After a torrid start in modelling when was signed to an agency aged 13 then dropped a few years later reportedly because her hips were “too big”, she has now been the face of American Eagle’s lingerie brand Aerie for more than a year and starred on the cover of Women’s Health and Self magazine.