BY MICHELE CANNING SMITH
'WE HAVE no size zero girls on our books; we have no need for size zero; and we won't be taking any girls onto our books that are size zero." That's the view of the Tyrone-born owner of the North's largest modelling agency and organiser of the Miss Northern Ireland contest.
Alison Campbell, originally from Victoria Bridge, was asked this week by the UlsterHerald to weigh in on the size zero debate. That follows the positive experience of a young Tyrone student in a Miss Northern Ireland heat, a girl who is a size 14 to 16, proving that curves are beautiful.
Ballygawley student Arlene Nugent, 20, was one of five shortlisted for the first heat of Miss Northern Ireland which was held in Loughran's Bar in the Moy.
While she did not gain one of the two coveted places to go through to the final, Arlene said her experience had shown that young women need not be pressurised into becoming "stick insects".
Curvy Arlene – who works out three times a week with a personal trainer and follows a healthy diet – is proud of her figure and embraced the contest with an abundance of confidence. That confidence, says Alison Campbell, caught the eye of the judges on the night.
"We welcome plus-size girls to the competition. Girls like Arlene show that it depends on the person and how they portray themselves.
"Arlene has the look and the attitude and a great bubbly personality. She carries herself well and is proud of who and what she is. She also knows her limitations, as do most women."
Alison is a former Miss Northern Ireland and is now in her 21st year of organising the competition.
Whilst acknowledging that in the history of the contest a plus-size girl has never won, Alison Campbell said she welcomed entries from girls with a fuller figure.
As to a niche in the modelling industry for plus size models, Alison said there is a big market out there currently, pointing out that the average size of women here is 14 to 16.
"We do have a place for plus-size models. We have a show tonight where a plus-size model is taking part, and another in Dublin on Sunday, again with a plus-size model taking part."
She said many shops now want to show their clothes on models who are the same size as the average woman, so they are embracing the fuller figure on the catwalk.
But before everyone gets carried away, the majority of girls on Alison's books are a size 10.
Alison says, "Designers do feel that clothes sit better on the slimmer girls which is why most of our models are size 10.
"Our smallest size is eight and we also have size 12 models."
She revealed that she herself is a size 12 and was a size 12 when she won the Miss Northern Ireland final.
The most notable size 12 girls in the agency are Angela McCarthy, who modelled at Belfast Fashion Week, and the beautiful Gayle Williamson.
