Sports Illustrated features first ever curvy model

The 26-year-old's print campaign for swimwear brand swimsuitsforall will appear in the magazine's annual Swimsuit Issue. Photo / Swimsutisforall

Model Ashley Graham has become the first plus size model to ever feature in an issue of Sports Illustrated magazine.

The 26-year-old model, who was raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, features in a beautiful new campaign for swimwear brand swimsuitsforall, which was today unveiled as the first ever plus size ad to have been selected to grace the pages of the publication's iconic Swimsuit Issue.

Ashley Graham will become the first ever plus size model to grace the pages of Sports Illustrated. Photo / Swimsutisforall

"I know my curves are sexy and I want everyone else to know that theirs are too," the size 16 fashion star said of her ground-breaking campaign.

"There is no reason to hide and every reason to flaunt. The world is ready for more curves in bikinis.

"swimsuitsforall helps women feel confident and sexy in swimsuits and I am so thrilled to be a part of the Curves in Bikinis campaign!"

The campaign marks an important milestone for both Sports Illustrated and the wider fashion industry, which has come under heavy fire from critics in recent months for its alleged discrimination of plus size women.

Fashion expert and TV presenter Louise Roe said that she was "thrilled" to see Sports Illustrated taking a stand in support of the plus size industry, adding that the magazine was helping to set a positive example for other fashion publications around the world.

"Honestly, I'm thrilled to see this," she said.

"Over the last couple of years, the fashion industry has changed so much and opened up to new ways of doing things - from transgender models on the runway to the rise of power-bloggers on the front row - it's enlightening to see old 'rules' being broken down."

Watch: The print campaign is also accompanied by a saucy video

- Daily Mail