- Karoline Bjørnelykke started modeling when she was a size zero. She's now considered plus-size.
- She said the industry encourages dieting; she now makes TikToks sharing her eating disorder journey.
- This is Karoline's story, as told to Charissa Cheong.
Editor's note: This story discusses eating disorders and may be triggering for some readers.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with model Karoline Bjørnelykke. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I was never the cool kid in school, so when I got scouted to become a model at 15, I was really quite surprised.
I worked in high fashion throughout my teenage years, walking the runway at Paris Fashion Week in 2012, and moving from my home in Norway to model abroad. It was weird because I went from feeling like no one wanted to talk to me to getting invited to lots of events where everyone wanted to be my friend.
Things took a bad turn pretty quickly. While I was away from home, I was living on an extreme diet to maintain my figure. I have struggled with anorexia since the age of 12 because even though I wasn't overweight, I was naturally a bit bigger than other kids in terms of height and build, so I got bullied by my peers. The extreme dieting during my early years as a model made my eating disorder a lot worse.
I came back to Norway five years ago and started to focus on eating well and gaining weight. I'm now a US size eight — I was previously a size zero — and I work as a plus-size model, which can refer to anyone larger than a US size 6 in the fashion industry.
I joined TikTok in 2021, and have been using my platform to talk about my experience in the modeling industry and warn people about how problematic and fatphobic it can be in my opinion.
Working in the fashion industry worsened my mental health and eating disorder
One of my most vivid memories from working in high fashion is being taken to the supermarket by some people in the industry who were responsible for booking jobs for me and some other models. They pointed at different foods in the store, telling me what I could and could not eat from there. They said I could eat low-calorie foods, like a jelly with zero calories, and also said I was allowed one potato on Saturdays as a sort of "cheat day."*
I felt like I was constantly being body-shamed by people in the fashion industry. I remember getting measured for a job and being told that even my fingers were too "fat," and that I needed to lose weight around my hips. It took the spark and enthusiasm out of me, and it was really bad for my mental health. I started to realize how stupid it all was and eventually flew home because I had just had enough of it.
When I got home and saw my doctor, I realized how serious my condition was, and knew I didn't want to be this way anymore.
As I continued to recover and feel better about myself, I started to see other people talking about recovering from their own eating disorders on Instagram, Pinterest, and eventually, as it started to blow up, TikTok.
Creators who posted TikToks about recovering from eating disorders inspired me to post content of my own
I was scrolling through TikTok one day when I came across a user sharing her experience with recovering from her eating disorder.
I realized there is a whole community on the app of people who had similar experiences to me, and it was great seeing them look so much happier and healthier.
While some people have criticized TikTok for allowing people to post content that promotes eating disorders and I'm aware there is a risk the content might trigger some people, I think recovery inspiration videos can be helpful for others.
TikTok eventually inspired me to share my own experiences, and I started off by posting transformation videos, where I would show clips of myself as a high fashion model, in comparison to what I look like now as a plus-size model.
@redkaroline It was a good choice #runway (btw anything over size 38 is called plus size in modeling) #model #plussizemodel ♬ original sound - troii.
They are now some of my most viewed videos. I think people really like transformation videos because they want to watch until the end to see the journey that person has been on, and most comments I get under these videos are quite positive and encouraging.
I want to continue to share my critique of the modeling industry to inform and inspire others
I've started to tell my viewers stories about my current experience as a plus-size model, to show what it is really like for me. For example, I've shared that I was once sent home from a job because they thought I was too big, and that I am sometimes asked to wear padding for plus-sized photoshoots to make myself look bigger, a practice that some other models have also spoken out about.
@redkaroline ✨trauma✨#model #highfashionmodel #midsizemodel #plussizemodel #wlw #lgbtq ♬ original sound - KyleAndJackieo
I think it's so strange that the industry would consider me a plus-size model just because I'm no longer a size zero. I think having these labels and distinctions doesn't make any sense and is as stupid as saying "female tennis player" instead of "tennis player." I think the industry deserves some critique, which is why I want to post about it more.
Of course, the fashion industry has improved since I started modeling in 2011 in terms of diversity and inclusion, but overall, I think they still have a long way to go.
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