The New Girl On The Block

Models 1 has named 20-year-old Lauren Punter as the winner of their curve supermodel competition. Run in collaboration with  ASOS,  the competition looked for women aged between 17 and 28, who were a dress size 18-plus, to Instagram an image of themselves with the handle #MakeMeACurveModel - and professional model bookers then chose their winner.

"The prospect of walking into a model agency can be daunting and Models 1 wanted to open their doors to a wider audience by utilising the power of social media and assuaging those initial nerves," said Models 1, adding: "We believe that beauty comes in different sizes."

Picked from thousands of entries, Punter was understandably floored when she was told she had won. "I am still in shock," she told us. "I entered the competition on the final day and I have never done anything like this or entered a competition like this before. I feel so proud and grateful to be representing plus-size models and women alike. Growing up it wasn't cool to be curvy, and the brands around at that time weren't cool either, but now thankfully times are changing."

Lauren Punter

She is more than ready for her close-up. Her prize - in addition to securing a contract with Models 1 Curve division - is £500 worth of vouchers to spend at ASOS and, more importantly, modelling the e-commerce site's Curve collection.

"In line with ASOS, Models 1 know the importance of a healthy body image in all shapes and sizes - it is important to represent healthy girls," said ASOS.