V Magazine “The Size Issue” Foreward Sneak Peak!

PLUS Model Magazine got an advance copy of the V Magazine Forward that will appear in highly anticipated Size Issue, which will be on newsstands January 14th!

Body size. Presently, it’s a subject of great debate in the fashion industry. In one corner, editors are calling for an end to size 0 clothing samples; in the other, designers are whittling down the women in their ad campaigns to cartoonish proportions. Everyone, it seems, has voiced his or her opinion on the issue, making it one of the most highly-blogged and heavily Twittered about topics of the day. Here’s our stance: big, little, pint-sized, plus-sized—every body is beautiful. And this issue is out to prove it.

We fell in love with our cover girls Dakota Fanning and Gabourey Sidibe, both of whom have shed stereotypes and shaken off their fair share of negative attention to become two of the most thoughtful and intriguing young actresses in the movies—as well as Oscar hopefuls. Our bets are on Sidibe winning Best Actress for her powerful role in Precious, and no doubt, every designer will be fighting to dress her for the red carpet. Suddenly it’s all about character, and less about being impossibly tall and achingly thin (but hey if you got there naturally that’s cool too). The eight actresses in our portfolio of the year’s great performances embody this evolution of the starlet into a newly-nuanced, highly-sensitive being.

But back to that whole size thing. From the female bodybuilder Lisa Lyon to the former Mugler muse Dianne Brill to the rising knitwear designer Mark Fast, this issue celebrates all those who have changed the shape of beauty and expanded the notion of what could be chic, sexy, or runway-worthy. Looking forward, we hope to do the same. To that end, our pages feature women of all sizes—from the curvy model Crystal Renn to the burlesque dancer Dirty Martini to Kenita Miller, star of the musical The Color Purple—as seen through the lenses of Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, Bruce Weber, Karl Lagerfeld, Terry Richardson, Sølve Sundsbø, Sebastian Faena, and Terry Tsiolis.

It’s not just a new year, it’s a new decade, and we’re all for writing new rules. Here’s one: Beauty comes in all forms, and as long as you’re unabashedly yourself, you’re bound to look good in anything and everything. Here’s to the size issue becoming a non-issue in 2010. Mr. and Ms. V

V MAGAZINE – THE SIZE ISSUE PREVIEW

About Chenese Lewis, Host of PLUS Model Radio

Chenese Lewis is a sought after keynote speaker, expert commentator, and a positive body image and self-esteem advocate. She is the current President of the Hollywood Chapter of the National Organization for Women, the Ambassador of the Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA), sits on the Celebrity Board of the non-profit organization Fed Up, Inc., and made history by being the first woman crowned Miss Plus America in 2003. Her unique story and prestigious career have been featured by countless media outlets such as Dr. Phil, The Insider, E! News, EXTRA, The National Examiner, iVillage, Figure Magazine and USA Today. Lewis is the creator and host of Hollywood NOW's "Love Your Body Day," an annual event where women of all sizes come together to celebrate a day of self-acceptance, to promote positive body image and to show that you don't have to be a size 0 to be beautiful. Her 2010 Love Your Body Campaign, where she posed nude with America's Next Top Model, Whitney Thompson, garnered international media attention and magnified her role as a leading positive body image advocate. As a plus size model, she has modeled for many companies including Torrid, Kmart, and served as the celebrity face for Sizeappeal. As a keynote speaker, she lectures at national workshops, seminars, and universities around the country including the University of California, Davis "Celebrate Your Body Week" and the commencement speaker at The Art Institute of California in Hollywood. Chenese's unique perspective as a plus size woman and role model enables her to connect to real women across the country. It's no wonder PLUS Model Magazine called her "A leader in the curvy revolution!" As an actress her work on B.E.T's hit show "Hell Date" showed her impeccable improvisational and comedic skills, which kept millions tuning in weekly. She also won rave reviews for her dramatic portrayal of Connie Williams, a larger than life professional baseball player in the NAACP Award winning play "The Girls of Summer" set in the 1940's. The Louisiana native is the Chief Creative Officer for Chenese Lewis Productions, LLC a media company established in 2007. She is the host of PLUS Model Radio, the #1 podcast for plus size women. She also was the executive producer for the 2008 Flawless Calendar, the very first of its kind, showcasing a wide variety of curvacious models all different ethnicities, shapes and sizes with high fashion editorial images. Chenese attributes her success by not conforming to society's ideals of beauty but rather showing by example that you can be beautiful and confident regardless of your size. Chenese Lewis is the epitome of the plus size woman.