Model Precious Lee: “I Want to Break Barriers and Make History.”
Precious Lee sees change on the horizon. (Photo: Lane Bryant)
Victoria Precious Lee, best known as Precious Lee, isn’t your typical runway model. The Lane Bryant #ImNoAngel model does not take offense to being labeled ‘plus-sized’ or ‘curvy.’ She uses both adjectives interchangeably. “I don’t connect a negative connotation with [the term] plus-sized. At the end of the day, what I’m about is: empowering women. If connecting the word ‘plus-sized’ with what I do makes someone feel better – I don’t really think about that,” she says. “I don’t concentrate on the label because I know what my goals are for this industry.”
The real message, Lee says, is diversity. She notes, “They don’t call straight sized models ‘straight sized models,’ but the term was coined to identify sizes within a [modeling] agency. It makes it easier for clients, sometimes. As it progresses, and people see you can be curvy and be a model, maybe the word will dissolve. In the meantime, there are so many other things we can focus on to have a conversation about besides that word.”
Although the process has been an evolving one, designers and even toy brands are making adjustments to represent its variety of consumers. “I think it’s a long overdue thing,” she says about the new range of Barbie dolls. “When I was a kid, my mother bought me Barbies, and she made sure I had black Barbies. It was more difficult to find a black Barbie.” While the 5’11 stunner doesn’t namedrop, she acknowledges that in high fashion today, still, “A lot of those designers are not using curvier women.”
Alternatively, when Lee attended the casting call for Lane Bryant’s #ImNoAngel campaign last year; she recalls it was a tryout like most other jobs – but with one significant difference. “I remember walking out feeling like it was my best one yet – like I connected with everyone. I was really excited about doing it because they were asking questions that were more personal: what I was about and how I felt about certain things – which made sense when I found out the direction of the campaign.” The social movement, which launched in late 2015, focuses on women in all shapes and sizes owning their bodies and redefining sexy. The newest ad in the latest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition features Lee in the spotlight.
Even with her success, the Atlanta-born IMG model wants to make sure she’s speaking about the two different challenges she takes on within the fashion industry. “I’m under represented by my size and my ethnicity. I am African American and I am plus – or curvy – or bigger, whatever you want to call it. That to me is something that makes me want to set higher goals. That’s the difference between me and my colleagues in the industry.”
While there are so few plus-sized black models, Lee doesn’t feel pressured to live up to expectations. She doesn’t think of it in a superficial sense about how she looks. “I feel empowered. As an African American black woman, I have such a sense of pride from my heritage. It’s an adrenaline [rush] to be in this industry on this level and represent so many women. For me, it’s an honor and I take it very seriously. I came into this industry to break barriers and make history.”
Related:
Plus Size Clothing: The Real Women Behind the Revolution
