Australian model Robyn Lawley has admitted she once had to wear her underwear to the beach as swimwear didn't fit her.
The six-foot tall stunner, who is promoted as a "curve" model by her management, wears sizes 12 to 14.
"I was sick of wearing lingerie to the beach because that's the only thing that was fashion-forward and my size," she said this week during Miami Swim Week – the annual swimwear fashion week.
Lawley was in Miami on the catwalk and promoting her swimmers range, Bond-Eye Swimwear.
"[I knew] that I could be part of the solution, not the problem ... Being a model first, I've tried on every suit you can imagine. I noticed a huge difference in swimwear compared to what was available in my size, so when we first started it was refreshing to say 'I want this fabric', or 'I want that cut'."
Her "plus size" frame catapulted her to international fame in 2011. She was scouted by Vogue Italia editor Franca Sozzani who featured her on the cover before she became the first realistic-sized woman to appear in Sports Illustrated's infamous swimsuit edition, wearing a Bond-Eye creation no less.
Also soaking up the exposure in Miami was bikini enthusiast Tash Oakley.
In just four years the Bronte beachgoer has evolved from a swimwear model to new media mogul and is now considered one of the world's leading swimwear aficionados.
Along with her friend, Devin Brugman, whom she met on Facebook in 2012, Oakley launched the first swimwear blog and Instagram account A Bikini A Day by posting daily photos of the pair wearing swimmers. She is feted around the world for her Monday swimwear line and by her 1.8 million fans on Instagram.
Oakley has since retired from real-time modelling to focus on her business ventures.
"I think walking on a catwalk in a bikini is very brave, I'd much rather be running in the sand or diving into the ocean," she told PS.
However, while the fitness-loving influencer – Fitbit's fashion ambassador – regularly encourages all women to don bikinis, body shaming her is a pastime of both online trolls and mainstream media. The most recent attack saw a British tabloid purchasing unflattering paparazzi photos of Oakley coming out of the surf and dedicating an entire article to analysing which filter she uses to "mask her cellulite thighs".