Curve model and body-positive activist Ashley Graham reveals her struggle to find the right size Oscars dress

'Trying to find a dress for the Oscars a girl my size ... I mean it has been a whole job in itself'

The 28-year-old model made history earlier this month when she became the second curve model to ever grace the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. (Getty Images)

Model and body-positive activist, Ashley Graham, has revealed the difficulty she encountered in finding a dress to wear for this year’s Oscars ceremony.

Speaking to host Giuliana Rancic during an interview for E!'s Live From the Red Carpet on Sunday, she spoke candidly about the struggles of finding a dress to fit her.

“Trying to find a dress for the Oscars, a girl my size — these girls this size.

“I mean it has been a whole job in itself. So I am happy tonight with my outfit.”

The 28-year-old model made history earlier this month when she became the second curve model to ever grace the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

But this isn’t the first time she has spearheaded such a change, last year she became one of the first ever curve models to feature in an advert in the magazine.

Currently signed to IMG models, Graham is a US size 12/UK size 16 model, designer and activist.

The Nebraska-born model is a vocal proponent of the Plus is Equal Campaign - the organisation which campaigns for the size 14-34 women who constitute 67 per cent of the American female population to be fairly represented in the media and fashion industry.

Graham, who has appeared in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour and Latina, has been vocal about the fact she rejects the ‘plus size’ label.

“When it comes to the word 'plus-size', I've been called a plus-size model for the past sixteen years,“ the activist said to Shape.

“I hear it, sometimes I say it - it's a slip of the tongue. But at the end of the day, it's a label. You can say, 'Yes it's a negative thing' or 'maybe it's not a negative thing'...but why would we want to be labelled something?

"Why do we want to be put in a different category than all the other types of models? No one says 'skinny model', so am I wrong for not wanting a label? I don't think so.”