Forget Kendall Jenner, Cara Delevingne and Gigi Hadid, a lingerie company has signed up a selection of inspirational, real women for its latest campaign.
Wheelchair racer Hannah Cockroft, senior nurse Rachel Elliot and donation campaigner Martyna Kaczmarek star in Panache underwear’s new Modelled by Role Models ads.
The company said the women were chosen for their, ‘individual strengths, achievements and contributions to society, as well as their healthy approach to body image’.
Hannah, Rachel and Martyna are joined by curvy model Marquita Pring, sports therapist Amy Hughes, and singer Mica Paris for the project.
Inspired by the statistic that 75 per cent of women had few or no role models, Panache picked six women admired for their personal achievements for its first digital campaign in the UK and US.
The women are wearing styles from the current spring/summer 2015 collection.
A spokesperson for Panache said: ‘In an industry so focused on image, Panache felt compelled to contribute to a shift in perception by asking the question: “What if we championing the next generation of role models?”
‘After all, 81 per cent of women believe that having a role model helps raise aspirations.’
‘As a brand, we have championed women since our beginnings 30 years ago. The campaign delivers our objectives through six aspiring women and their personal achievements.’
Hannah Cockroft MBE, who models a white lace bra in one shot, is a Paralympian who suffered two cardiac arrests, which resulted in damage to two areas of her brain and left her with deformity to her legs and feet and weakened hips.
Not letting this dampen her spirit, Hannah started her sporting career on both the Paralympic basketball and discus teams before moving on to solely concentrate on wheelchair racing in her early teens.
In June 2010, Hannah broke seven world records in eight days, at the same time as becoming ‘Prom Queen’, completing her A-Level exams and competing in her first-ever International overseas competition.
Her senior debut on the Great Britain team saw her bring home two Gold medals thus causing fans to call her Hurricane Hannah.
She went on to be awarded an MBE for services to athletics in 2013 and winning the IPC European Champion T34 100m Gold and T34 800m Gold in 2014.
Speaking about Panache’s campaign, she said: ‘The advice that I’d give to anyone who wanted to follow what I do is grab every opportunity that they’re given.
‘Don’t be scared – go out, grab it and enjoy it.’
Another model, senior nurse Rachel Elliott is most often seen wearing scrubs, rather than a balconette-style T-shirt bra.
The nurse who volunteered in an Ebola treatment centre in Sierra Leone, said about her experience in the disease-ravaged reason: ‘It was a no-brainer really. I had skills I could do something with. Why did all of us come into medicine?’.
Rachel signed up as soon as she saw the appeal for volunteers.
At home, she works at Royal London hospital in the largest trauma centre in Europe, where the 7/7 bombing victims were taken for emergency care.
British singer and presenter Mica Paris, who poses in a black bra and high-waisted black knickers, grew up singing in her grandparent’s church before becoming a back-up singer at the young age of 17.
Famous for 1988 hit song One Temptation, Mica released three albums, and has starred in West End shows. In 2002 she hosted the TV show Soul Solutions and wrote her book called Beautiful Within: Finding Happiness and Confidence in Your Own Skin.
She said: ‘What makes a strong role model is someone who’s not thinking about being a role model. Someone who is passionate about what they do and is driven to achieve greatness.’
Meanwhile, health campaigner Martyna Kaczmarek launched a donor campaign called Day in the Life promoting blood, bone marrow and posthumous organ donation after she decided to donate blood on her 18th birthday at a regional blood centre in Poland.
Martyna, who poses in a black lace lingerie set for the brand, used her own personal experience of donating blood and initiated the idea of organising blood drives at her own school.
The first blood drive was a huge success and the Day in the Life campaign was born; now a registered charity hosting blood drives in schools and sports stadiums across Poland.
Meanwhile, sports therapist Amy Hughes, from Somerset, says her aim is to raise awareness and motivate people to become more active and lead a healthier lifestyle.
Fittingly, Amy models a sports bra, teaming it with a pair of tracksuit bottoms in the tasteful picture.
The running champ broke the women’s world record of running 17 consecutive marathons in Texas in 2013 and most recently broke the World Record for running 53 marathons in 53 cities in 53 days around the UK.
She said: ‘I think it is important that young people, especially girls, can see that keeping fit is cool and fun. If you want to make a difference, you’ve got to do something crazy. I feel really passionately about keeping fit and active, so intend to inspire the nation, especially young people,’ says Amy.
Amy also raises money for the Isabelle Lottie Foundation, which raises awareness of early detection of brain tumours in children and young adults.
Curvy model Marquita Pring has been in the business since she was 15 and has featured in shoots for the likes of Vogue Italia and Levi’s, and walked for designers like Jean Paul Gaultier.
The model co-founded ALDA, the positive body image group that represents beauty overall without divisions, boundaries or sizes.
With its new campaign, Panache wants to shine a light on some of the incredible achievements of women today.
The inclusive brand for bigger boobs used plus-size Whitney Thompson, winner of America’s Next Top Model, to model their Sculptresse range in 2014.