#LoveYourself

Munroe Bergdorf is back! Having been the face of our #LoveYourself campaign for Valentines’ day, Munroe is making a statement in Bluebella swimwear for a summery shoot on a Barcelona beach.

Uniquely beautiful, strong and confident, a transgender model and activist, Dazed Beauty’s LGBTQ+ editor and one kickass lady, Munroe was at the helm of our #LoveYourself campaign earlier this year.

At Bluebella, deeply rooted in our ethos is self-love, and that’s the message we’re spreading this year, celebrating you. We’re redefining sensuality with our campaign, focused around loving you for exactly who you are - #LoveYourself! We know that summer can feel like a pressured time for lots of women, something that Munroe has written about in her body positive Instagram posts.

 

“I know I'm not alone in saying that I'm someone who has had a complicated relationship with their body, especially during the summer. Advertising selling us the dream of the perfect beach body is so damaging, especially when we as women come in an endless array of shapes, sizes, abilities and gender identities.”
- Munroe Bergdorf

“I spent so much energy trying to hide my body, that I forgot I deserve to enjoy it… My weight fluctuates. I have self-harm scars. I'm transgender. I get cellulite. But I deserve to feel the sun and sea on my skin during summer as much as anyone else! I refuse to let other people's judgments of my body become how I see myself.”

 

Munroe has some kickass words of wisdom for anyone wanting to get beach body ready this summer.

“As far as I’m concerned there are just three things you need to have a ‘beach ready’ body this summer. 1. a body. 2. a swimsuit and 3. a beach. Which is why I’m proud to support the @bluebella #LoveYourself campaign, and now let’s just get out on that beach and enjoy it.”

We couldn’t agree more!

 Having gone through a lot to get to her position, Munroe is well versed in the importance of body positivity and loving yourself for exactly who you are. An icon in the age of increasing social awareness, she’s using her platform not only to increase love for herself, but to be an advocate for a fairer world and to embolden other individuals to fight for positive change and to #LoveYourself.

We also shot Munroe in her favourite Bluebella lingerie pieces, and not only does she look incredible, she also shares our passion for letting lingerie make you feel incredible. “What’s so amazing about lingerie is that it can really emphasize your own femininity...I’ve never felt so sure of myself or as empowered as a human being as I do now. It's taken a long time to get to this point where I just feel calmness.”

 The world can be a scary and negative place for a lot of people, but Munroe’s own attitude towards self-love is an inspiring one: “In the early stages of transition, I was scared of the masculine parts of my body but it has changed so much during the process. I’m now in a position where I don’t care about other people’s opinions on my appearance. I care about the opinions of the people that matter to me, but not so much of people walking down the street. If someone knows I’m trans I don’t feel ashamed of that anymore. I think it’s something to celebrate and it’s a part of me.”

 CEO Emily Bendell wanted Munroe to lead the #LoveYourself campaign because of her path to self-love, and sees this campaign as only the beginning. “We want to show that sensuality can be defined by a wide range of different types of beauty and that there is real beauty in personal stories towards self-love and acceptance.”

 And as we share that same belief that you should love every piece of you, Bluebella was the natural choice for her to join forces with. “Bluebella lingerie is so beautiful and it’s created by women. When I’m wearing Bluebella I don’t feel like I’m wearing it for anyone but myself. I feel like it complements my shape. I feel sexy and beautiful in my own right - my kind of sexy. I’m proud to be part of a campaign that is encouraging all women to feel empowered and sexy in their own way, on their own terms.” 

 And it certainly doesn’t end with Munroe. We know that as fun as Instagram can be, it can unfortunately also be a bit of a black hole for breeding self-doubt. So with the help of a girl gang of some of our favourite women we’re pushing back on toxic comparison and asking our uniquely beautiful ladies to define themselves in three words and #LoveYourself.

(And ask you to do the same!)

 Sophie Lee, 23, a model and fire eater from Manchester who was horrifically burned when an air conditioning unit at a venue where she was performing in Chicago blew the flames back into her face. She spent almost a month in hospital recovering to repair her face and upper body. She said the accident changed her whole outlook on life for the better. “I had to get a grip and learn to love myself, as myself,” she said.

Sophie's three words are Confident, Grateful and Strong

 Joanne Dion, 21, from London, was born with albinism, a congenital condition which causes the complete or partial absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes. As a child she was bullied and called cruel nicknames but that never stopped her from being unapologetically her. Two years ago, she decided to pursue fashion and modelling which lead to her career as a model, speaker and actress.

Joanne's three words are Influencer, Actress and Worthy

 Elisabetta Soskic, 24, a Serbian model and dancer based in London who expresses her individuality through her distinctive and extensive intricate tattoos.

Elisabetta's three words are Open-minded, Independent and Emotional

Stef Reid, a Paralympian who has won multiple medals for Great Britain including Long Jump World Champion in London and triple Paralympic medallist in the Long Jump and 200m Sprint. She has an Honours degree in Biochemistry, and away from the track works as a keynote speaker, actor, and model. Stef was also a finalist on Celebrity MasterChef 2018!

Maya Spencer-Berkeley, a model who challenges traditional beauty 'norms' by sharing images that raise awareness of her rare genetic skin condition, epidermolysis bullosa (EB).

Maya's three words are Unapologetic, Resilient and Badass

 Paige Mary Grace, Editor-in-Chief of the fashion magazine she founded as well as a fashion stylist and creative director, Paige is also a righteous curve model.

Paige's words are Empowering, Loyal and Boss

 Nyané Lebajoa, an entrepreneur and fashion and beauty creator who has built up her brand impressively whilst juggling her role as influencer, with over one million Instagram followers to date.

Nyané's words are Entrepreneur, Influencer and Artist

 Nelly London, social media co-ordinator by day and social media influencer by night.

Nelly's words are Survivor, Creator and Artist

 Follow the campaign on Instagram, and get involved by posting your own pictures in the pieces of Bluebella lingerie that make you feel loved and accepted in your own skin with the hashtag #LoveYourself.

 Lots of love, Bluebella.