Kate Upton has gone from bikini model to high fashion super model over the course of two short years. The 20-year-old model officially has Anna Wintour’s stamp of approval and has landed her first US Vogue cover, a position usually only held for top celebrities and accomplished super models. This marks a huge milestone for the model since her name is usually associated with Sports Illustrated magazine as a bikini model.
However, Kate Upton’s road to high-fashion has not been an easy one. She has received lots of backlash from critics as being ‘plus-sized’ and was even rejected by Victoria’s Secret’s casting agents who described her as looking like a “page 3 girl.”
Her cover was shot by Mario Testino and her interview and profile was written by Lizze Widdicombe who described Upton as “America’s favorite bombshell.” In the magazine, Upton gets the chance to defend her weight and body image against the critics.
“The things that they’re rejecting are things that I can’t change,” says Upton. “I can’t change my bra size. They’re natural! I can work out and I can stay healthy and motivated, but I can’t change some things. I really just live my life. I love my body. It’s what God gave me! I feel confident with myself, and if that inspires other women to feel confident with their bodies, great.”
Kate Upton’s transition from bikinis to couture is turning out to be a successful one, as she already has the approval of designer Michael Kors. On describing Kate Upton he says, “It harks back to the seventies, when we first had models like Patti Hansen and Christie Brinkley. They were sexy but they were also athletic. And I think that Kate is very much that. You see her, and her skin is glowing; she’s got a gorgeous smile. It’s optimistic. It’s not about a sad girl on the corner. It’s about a girl who’s enjoying herself.”
Now that she is on the cover of perhaps one of the world’s biggest fashion magazines, Upton has the ultimate approval from Anna Wintour and proves that high-fashion is taking a turn to embrace a more natural and relatable figure. Her curves and fun personality make her a model that is appealing to both men and women, and she shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
“I feel like I trust my career path,” she says about her future. “I would love to have my own lingerie line.”
Checkout Kate Upton’s cover and spread in June’s US Vogue.