These models recreated a Calvin Klein denim ad to prove that men of all sizes are ‘handsome and worthy’

• A group of male models recreated a Calvin Klein ad to prove a point about diversity.
• The picture is part of Darnel Ghram’s “#WeAreBigAndTall” project.
• “#WeareBigAndTall

   is a project I wanted to bring to life to shed some light on the under-representation & misconceptions of plus male models,” Ghram wrote on his website. 

• The pictures are inspirational.

• Ghram spoke to INSIDER about his inspiration behind the campaign.

In the last year, the fashion and modeling industries have started to make strides in embracing body diversity. But to fill in the gaps in representation, women like Diana Sirokai, Chastity Garner, and Katie Sturino have all recreated famous pictures to prove a point about body positivity. Rarely, however, do we see men do the same thing. But Darnel Ghram, a self-described “plus-size” model and body-positive activist, wants to change that.

Along with a group of diverse male models, Ghram recreated an iconic Calvin Klein ad to prove a point about a lack of representation in men’s fashion.

A post shared by Darnel Ghramm (@dghramm)Mar 19, 2018 at 4:33am PDT

Ghram told INSIDER that a lack of representation in the modeling industry inspired the shoot. “Some comments and questions arose in the process of how there are people who have never seen a plus-size male model and who don’t think we exist,” he explained. “That empowered me to make this great and to show that we are here!” 

The pictures are part of Ghram’s “#WeAreBigAndTall” project, which aims to “to shed some light on the under-representation & misconceptions of plus male models,” according to his website. He told INSIDER that he specifically chose to recreate the Calvin Klein ad because denim is a mainstay in his closet.

For the first installment of the project, Ghram enlisted six other “plus-size” male models and photographer Tony Trott. Pictured from left to right below: Kyle, Darnel Ghram, Rob Robinson, Arcadio Ady Del Valle, Travis Curry, Eric Anderson, and Miguel Rodriguez.

“I decided to bring together a few plus males with different ethnicities, height, sizes & shapes to answer these questions & recreate the ‘Plus Size Male’ shoot Calvin Klein missed out on,” he wrote on his website. “We EXIST and we are constituted by many different things. Whether big, tall or simply fall outside of the world’s standards, we are ALL handsome and worthy, FACT!”

Ghram told INSIDER that this project “is all about empowerment and positivity.”

He continued: “We are worthy as models and human beings. We shouldn’t be cast out just because we have a little more curves or aren’t as tall as the next model. We wear clothes, too, and rock it very well! 

And Ghram’s just getting started. He told us that he is already planning future projects and continues to be an active member of the body-positivity community.

“Some of my goals are to continue to inspire others, to break down the walls of what ‘beauty standards’ are, to help the plus-size community become a normal thing, not taboo and to continue to post my style and show guys just like me who love fashion, not to be afraid to express themselves every morning when they get dressed,” he said.

You can read Ghram’s full caption below:

“They asked…Have you ever seen a Plus Male Model? Do they even exist? What even constitutes as a plus size man? Then they asked…Does anyone remember that ‘Plus Size’ Calvin Klein campaign? Well, do you?!

 I decided to bring together a few plus males with different ethnicities, height, sizes & shapes to answer these questions, and recreate the ‘Plus Size Male’ shoot Calvin Klein missed out on. We EXIST and we are constituted by many different things. Whether big, tall, or simply fall outside of the worlds standards, we are ALL handsome and worthy, FACT!”

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