Size matters as curvy Leonie wins big modelling contract

KATE MOSS may get all the attention but most women think of her more as dartboard material than fashion inspiration.

So to give fashion- conscious Irish females an alternative style icon, a contest yesterday awarded a modelling contract and cover-girl shoot to a new star who really fits their idea of fabulous.

Leonie Maher beat competition from some 5,000 entrants to be crowned the country’s most curvaceous woman in the contest run by SimplyBe.ie, an online fashion store that caters for larger women which, in truth, means most women.

The 26-year-old drama teacher from Mullingar, Co Westmeath, will be signed up to the Celia Holman Lee modelling agency, have a photo shoot for the cover of the new SimplyBe spring/summer catalogue, and receive €1,000 worth of clothes from the company.

A size 16, Leonie said she has always been happy with her shape and never fretted about losing weight, but it took her mother to convince her to enter the competition.

“I’m tall and I’m broad and that’s the way I always was, even in school. It never bothered me. Besides, apparently the men like a curvy woman, although I won’t say more than that,” she laughed.

Leonie teaches classes around counties Westmeath and Offaly and is also studying for her master’s degree in drama therapy.

She said her experience had taught her that looking good was as much to do with feeling good inside as with choosing the right clothing.

“From Monday to Friday, I try to help children feel more confident about themselves through drama, so I need to have confidence in me. You’re always on display, really — whether you’re walking down the town or walking down a catwalk — so it’s good to develop a natural confidence. And I always believe that if you’re happy in yourself, it shows in how you look.”

The contest was off- limits to the standard modelling industry “skinny minnies” with only women of size 14 and up eligible to enter, and the organisers were astounded by the number of entrants and the standard of talent.

Celebrity judges Caroline Morahan, Celia Holman Lee and Brenda Donoghue had a tough time picking a winner from the 21 finalists at the finale in Athlone yesterday, but plumped for Leonie just ahead of Kelly Marquez, 19, from Dublin and Fiona Roche, 36, from Kildare.