Thick is not a word one would associate with Barbie, but one woman is determined to change the “unattainable standard” of beauty with her plus-size modelling agency.
“As a young girl, I played with Barbie as I’m sure a lot of girls did. In my mind the doll, as well as the women in magazines and those on runways, were the epitome of beauty,” says Dimakasto Ntsolo.
The 33-year-old marketing graduate of New Germany, west of Durban, was, however, very self-conscious about her plus-size body.
“I wanted to change the way I looked, I wanted to be skinny. Shopping was such a frustrating experience, if I found something that did fit, it often looked frumpy and just wasn’t my style.”
At the age of 21, she was a size 40.
“The turning point was when I overheard a journalist on the phone frantically talking about needing a model.”
Ntsolo jokingly said she would do it and walked away thinking it was laughable that someone her size could model.
She was wrong. The journalist said she would be a perfect fit for the shoot for a famous Durban designer, and the gown was a perfect fit too.
“That just made me realise that the fashion world was starting to wake up to the fact that most of their consumers were average or above average sized women.
“That’s why more and more clothing retailers now have plus-size ranges to try to win over a market that has been ignored for so long. We are also buyers and we want to wear clothes which make us look good and feel comfortable,” Ntsolo said.
“If I found something that was my ‘size’, it still wouldn’t fit well as I have a smaller waist and bigger hips. It was also a challenge finding clothes that were age appropriate, that’s why I decide to have my own fashionable clothes made.”
After the photo shoot 12 years ago, Ntsolo was asked by the designer to model an entire plus size range and she was then discovered by an agency.
“By then modelling had helped build my confidence and empowered me to really love my body, I no longer wanted to be skinny or change the way I looked. I finally felt comfortable in my own skin.”
Once signed to the modelling agency, she would get booked about once every two months.
Posing for catalogues, walking the runway, Ntsolo thought she had made it.
That was until she realised that she was not getting the same attention as mainstream models.
“There was not the same focus and exposure given to plus-size models, that inspired me to start Thick Barbie, dedicated solely to plus size models,” she says.
She has spent the past 11 months laying the foundations for her agency, and has already signed six models in Durban and Johannesburg.
She believes 2016 will be a big year for Thick Barbie, a project which is as important to her as are her other businesses.
Professional make up artist, marketing manager, events co-ordinator and business owner, Ntsolo is taking on the world of fashion, beauty and all things glamorous in giant leaps.