I had the opportunity to go to a studio location in New
York, where Jones and her team, including her husband, founder and photographer
of LucasPictures were shooting an international model for their upcoming denim
edition. I spent days in advance researching and writing out thought-provoking
questions for my interview. Here are the questions I asked, and here is what
Jones had to say.
1. You are definitely a confident, strong, empowered woman.
I have heard you mention that your mother did a great job raising you, as you never
felt limited by your weight to do whatever it is you wanted to do! Can you tell
me more about your upbringing and who in your family inspired you?
“All the women in my family are very different. My mom was
an excellent homemaker and my mother and grandmother were very graceful women
who had dignity and integrity. My mother always told me, ‘You can do whatever
you want to do. You can be the president!’ Being the president is the highest position
you can reach in this country, so no, I never felt limited. In high school I
played football and we had to fight for that at first because they did not want
a girl playing football, but I did it!”
2. How did PLUS
Model Magazine get started?
“The way Plus Model Magazine came together was very organic
and ordained. My current partner, Valery
and I used to work at another magazine prior and we got to know each other very
well. A plus model I knew very well had forwarded me some amazing shots and I
sent them to several magazines trying to get them published and no one wanted
to take them. At that time the world was not ready to see a plus sized women in
a high fashion or sensual way. This made me only more determined to get these
photos out so people could see them and celebrate beautiful, curvy women. I
told Valery about my idea and she was sold! Everything seemed to fall into
place because I knew her so well and we both had the prior experience with
magazine writing and producing. We balance each other out very well.
3. Now I know you’ve done hundreds of interviews and some
with big time outlets such as ABC World News with Diane Sawyer, Fox News, Coco
Perez, Entertainment Tonight, etc. Do you have a favorite interview and why?
“I believe my favorite interview was the ABC World News
feature with Diane Sawyer based on our article and spread entitled ‘Plus Size
Bodies, What’s Wrong With Them Anyway?’ (Article Link) because that was a moment when I could truly see that we
were in fact making such a huge impact on the world! We received so many
positive messages from women everywhere—the U.S., Canada, Europe and also 30
letters from a Girl Scout troop saying how much the story inspired them to love
themselves and their bodies. We even received hundreds of requests to republish
the story and photos from news outlets internationally from Russian magazines,
Germany, etc. We got so many requests and emails, that my team and I were
online non-stop, rotating shifts for four days straight—in order to make sure
we did not miss out on any opportunities. After this news feature and the
responses it generated was when I could see that we were truly making an impact
and a difference in the way the world views plus size women.”
4. How was it participating in the Full Figured Fashion Week
casting tour in 2012? Did you learn any new insights into the industry?
“I went to the castings for Full Figured Fashion Week
(FFFWeek) both in New York and Florida and sat on the panel as one of the
judges, selecting models for the fashion show. One thing I learned was that
women come in so many different shapes and sizes and are so beautiful and
confident! The plus sized community is really a sisterhood and it’s our job to
encourage and lift each other up. Actually, when I was younger, I used to model
myself and I was one of Gwen’s (Gwen Devoe is the founder of FFFWeek) students
in her Plus Academy. It is great to see how our beginnings have now come full
circle and all the things we did and learned many years back have empowered and
informed us to do what we are doing now to empower thousands of other plus
women and coming generations.”
5. Unfortunately, I missed the FFFWeek “Is Plus a Dirty
Word” panel. What conclusions did you all come to?
“The panel went very well. We had Monif C., blogger Marie
Denee, Curvy Girl Lingerie out of LA, Alexandra and Erica Watson (comedian) on
the panel. We mainly talked about the role of plus size bloggers. We are
currently working on developing a plus size coalition which would allow us to
make proposals and signed petitions to agencies and brands to adopt more models
on to their rosters who wear larger sizes than just a 10/12 or 14/16 because
these sizes are not the only sizes that represent the plus consumer. If brands
want to target larger consumers, when they are only putting out images of
smaller women in their advertisements and catalogs but they sell larger sizes,
then they are not allowing a big population of their consumers see what the
clothing will look like on them and that’s false advertising!
6. What feedback
did you receive in relation to PLUS Model Magazine’s first Black Issue?
As for PLUS
Model Magazine’s All Black Models edition, we received a lot of hate mail
behind that. People were barking things like ‘Why do they deserve their own
edition?’ and ‘Why not do an all white model edition?’ and much more harsh
comments, but most of all the plus models in the industry are white or of
European decent. This is when I realized that we have such a long way to go and
that prejudice and racism really do still exist, more prevalently than I
thought. Though we’ve made some progress, we’ve got a long way to go. I am also
thinking about doing a Hispanic /Latina plus models edition.”
7. I know you are an advocate for body diversity within the
industry and I know you launched 18PLUS back in 2010. How is that going?
“Unfortunately there are just not enough 18+ models in the
industry for me to do an entire section for 18PLUS every edition without using
the same models repeatedly. Though there are models out there who are sizes 18
and above, most of them are not signed to agencies. The industry is just not
supporting these women, and that is very disheartening and something I want to
change.”
8. In a DailyVenusDiva interview you said, “Don’t be fooled
by thinking that just because someone is working in the plus industry that they
are plus positive” and in a Plus Model 411 interview you said that “I feel like
many companies are focusing on how popular a model is instead of who is
actually selling to their customers.” Can you elaborate more on the
restrictions and frustrations you run into even today in the industry and with
Plus Model Magazine?
“There is such limited size diversity in the industry. There
are a lot of plus agencies, bookers, brands and executives who are fat-phobic!
This is the root of the problem. As a magazine, to protect our brand and ensure
we have high quality models who will be well prepared, show up to set on time,
etc. we mainly only hire agency signed models for our shoots and since the pool
of these models to choose from is so scarce, this puts limits on our options as
well.”
9. I saw you mention that you would love to publish a plus male
model edition. Have you begun working on that and do you still plan to do that?
“Yes, I still want to do that very much. If I am going to do
so, however, I have to plan ahead because we plan the themes of our monthly
issues a year in advance. I will also have to find a lot of my plus male models
in advance, because that is another model pool that will be difficult to find.
I would like to partner with Chubstr to do this.”
10. What do you think of NUVOTV’s ‘CurvyGirls’? Do you think
it paints an accurate portrayal of the industry or is it sensationalized?
“PLUS Model Magazine actually participated in a few of the
show’s episodes—the pilot and the first season. I think that production could
have been better, because I do not blame the models for certain situations that
happened. However, I will say that is was good to see plus women being
recognized and celebrated on television.”
11. What is your vision for PLUS Model Magazine and for the
plus/curvy industry?
“Honestly, my vision for Plus Model Magazine used to be that
I would one day see it on news stands, however, most magazines and news outlets
now are making the transition from print to online, so why would I try to go
against a societal trend when we are already there? So we are ahead and
everyone else is trying to catch up. I would love for PMM’s impact to be worldwide on an even larger scale.
As you can imagine, I left the studio feeling truly inspired
and humbled to be in the presence of such an amazing, wise woman and getting a
first hand look at what it is like to be in the studio shooting to produce visual
content for the next magazine edition. I had to walk to the train station in my
high heels because as I made my way earlier during the day, the entire bottom
of one of my sandals came off. I took the elevator downstairs, put on my sunshades
and headphones, swung my satchel over my right shoulder and walked happily to
the train station jamming to the music. This was a day I will never forget as
long as I live.
12. What challenges do you face as the Editor?
One of the biggest challenges we face is advertising. Surprisingly,
the plus size fashion industry generally does not make a section in their
budgets for advertising so when they pay us to publish ads in our magazine they
will use money from their social media budget, for example. These companies
just want to take pictures and toss them up on social media sites and plus
blogs and feel that is sufficient enough. While social media is an effective
tool for advertising, big time name brand companies should definitely have a
budget set aside for advertising. Though plus bloggers have a big impact and
are important, they shouldn’t replace plus models and the need for true
advertising. This is a problem and I hope it will change in the future.”
13. I know you are a woman of faith and an advocate for many
things in addition to the plus industry such as interracial dating/love,
multiple sclerosis and autism. How do you see yourself as an advocate and do
you consider your bravery and outspokenness in each area as a part of your
purpose/ministry?
“Yes, I do believe that these things that have happened in
my life are contributing factors to my purpose and ministry. It all really
boils down to your being your authentic self. My grandfather was a minister and
he wanted his children to become ministers, which none of them did, but I
believe that we minister in our own ways through our industries.
When I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis I initially
felt betrayed that I was such a big promoter of body acceptance and love, when
my own body turned against me. However, now I look at that time in my life as
an opportunity to relearn my body and to relearn how to love myself, so now
when I talk to women I can understand what they are going through when
struggling to love themselves and can speak to them from personal experience.”
14. Lastly, what advice do you have for me as a young woman
of color in school who wants to make an impact in the plus industry and in the
world, like yourself?
“Well, first I always ask myself, ‘What is the end result
for what I want to do?’ I pray, fast and meditate on it.
It is important to have good, honest people around you who
will tell you like it is. It is better to have honest people around you, who
will sometimes tell you what you don’t want to hear than have people around you
who only say yes to everything you say. This will make you a better and a
stronger person.
Allow God to order your steps. If he lays something on your
heart and you know that is what you are supposed to do, then do it.
Also network, network, network and be nice to people. You
never know who someone is. I am a respecter of all persons and as you can see
through my personal experiences, many of the people I worked with early on in
life, I am still working with now on more intense levels.
After our interview, I watched the team put the finishing
touches on the model and prep for the shoot. I watched the model work her magic
in front of the camera as Luke worked his magic behind the camera and Jones was
right by his side giving instruction and suggestions to the model.
As you can imagine, I left the studio feeling truly inspired
and humbled to be in the presence of such an amazing, wise woman and getting a
first hand look at what it is like to be in the studio shooting to produce visual
content for the next magazine edition. I had to walk to the train station in my
high heels because as I made my way earlier during the day, the entire bottom
of one of my sandals came off. I took the elevator downstairs, put on my sunshades
and headphones, swung my satchel over my right shoulder and walked happily to
the train station jamming to the music. This was a day I will never forget as
long as I live.
--Yasmine Arrington
Read the latest edition of PLUS Model Magazine here: http://www.plus-model-mag.com/
Also follow them on Twitter and Instagram @Plusmodelmag
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