Velvet d'Amour (born May 27, 1967) is an American
plus-size model
A plus-size model is an individual size 12 and above who is engaged primarily in Model (person), modeling plus-size clothing. Plus-size clothing worn by plus-size models is typically catering for and marketed to either big, tall or overweight men ...
and
fashion photographer
Fashion photography is a genre of photography that portrays clothing and other fashion items. This sometimes includes haute couture garments. It typically consists of a fashion photographer taking pictures of a dressed model in a photographic stu ...
, best known via the worldwide media coverage she received after her appearance in
Jean-Paul Gaultier
Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 June 1952) is a French haute couture and prêt-à-porter fashion designer.
He is described as an "enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs including corset ...
's 2007 Spring/Summer
prêt-à-porter
Ready-to-wear (RTW)also called ''prêt-à-porter'', or off-the-rack or off-the-peg in casual useis the term for garments sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure or bespoke clothing tailored to a parti ...
collection shown in Paris in October 2006. Standing at and weighing , she made a catwalk appearance in
John Galliano
John Charles Galliano (born 28 November 1960) is a British fashion designer. He was the creative director of his eponymous label John Galliano and French fashion houses Givenchy and Dior. From 2014 to 2024, Galliano was the creative director ...
's prêt-à-porter showing entitled "Everybody Is Beautiful" in 2006, and in the associated
French Vogue article featuring photography by
Nick Knight.
In response to the skinny model debate, D'Amour commented, "The general reason one gets as to why there is not more representation of curvier folks within modern media is that inclusion would be equivalent to acceptance, and acceptance would then equal condoning, which would mean they support alleged ill health. The odd dichotomy is that whilst people like myself are banned due to the purported notion we will somehow 'promote' being unhealthy, we are besieged with media saturated with imagery of
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...
,
Nicole Richie
Nicole Camille Richie (; born September 21, 1981) is an American media personality, fashion designer, and actress. She came to prominence after appearing on the reality television series ''The Simple Life'' (2003–2007), in which she starred al ...
,
Paris Hilton
Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, and socialite. Hilton was born in New York City and raised there partially; shuttling between Los Angeles and New York City; she is a great-grandda ...
,
Kate Moss
Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is an English model. Arriving towards the end of the "supermodel era", Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her t ...
and
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Dee Lohan ( ; born July 2, 1986) is an American actress, singer, producer, and businesswoman. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Lohan was signed to Ford Models at age three. She appeared as a regular on the soap opera ' ...
. How these women represent good health is somewhat beyond me."
D'Amour's appearance on the catwalk was widely regarded as a response by Gaultier to the international model health debate, although D'Amour is quoted in many interviews stating that Gaultier's intentions were honest. He was in fact, casting his 30-year retrospective and thus he was harkening back to previous collections where he had already incorporated plus size models, which is how she was cast in the first place.
D'Amourg featured in the title role of ''
Avida Avida may refer to:
* Avida (software), artificial life software platform
* ''Avida'' (film), 2006 French film
* Avida, the former name of the kibbutz Neve Harif
* Mordechai Avida, Israeli radio broadcaster
See also
* Abida (biblical figure)
...
'', the 2006 French film directed by
Benoît Delépine
Benoît Delépine (; born 30 August 1958) is a French comedian and film director. He is known for his satirical activities on TV channel Canal+.
Director of the TV program '' Guignols de l'info'' for many years, he currently writes TV programs ...
and
Gustave Kervern
Gustave Kervern (born 27 August 1962), also known as Gustave de Kervern and Gustave K/Vern, is a French actor, director and screenwriter. He is best known for his collaboration with Benoît Delépine.
Life and career
In 1999, he joined his frie ...
, and produced by
Mathieu Kassovitz
Mathieu Kassovitz () is a French actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has won three César Awards: Most Promising Actor for '' See How They Fall'' (1994), and Best Film and Best Editing for '' La Haine'' (1995). He also re ...
, which was selected for the 2006
Cannes
Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...
and 2007
Tribeca
Tribeca ( ), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Str ...
film festivals amongst others and has been purchased by Cinema Epoch for US distribution. In 2010, she participated in the French TV show : "La Ferme Célébrités en Afrique" She has also launched a magazine called ''Vol-Up-2'' that features her photography as well as other photographers and artists. As D'Amour experienced success as a plus model, she subsequently photographed many plus models for Vol-Up-2, such as rising plus model Clementine Desseaux.
References
External links
Velvet on facebook Velvet d'amour bio FR Adventures of Velvet d'Amour in the Ferme of célébrités 3 in South Africa FR and daily picturesIMDBVol-Up-2
{{DEFAULTSORT:D'Amour, Velvet
Living people
1967 births
Female models from New York (state)
American photographers
Artists from Rochester, New York
Plus-size models
American women photographers
21st-century American women