Aerie uses new bra campaign to celebrate women with disabilities

Aerie has launched yet another campaign with a strong body positivity message.

The lingerie brand has unveiled Aerie Bras Make You Feel Real Good to showcase their new line of items using women with disabilities. The unretouched images feature a wide range of body types, wheelchair users and those with colostomy bags, hearing aids and crutches. The American Eagle brand’s promos also include women with scars, stretch marks and insulin pumps.

Aerie has been a major force in the body inclusivity movement - featuring activist-model Iskra Lawrence as the face of the brand.

"As a brand, Aerie has been a leader in empowering women and celebrating inclusivity and body positivity since our launch of #AerieREAL in 2014," Jennifer Foyle, Aerie Global Brand President, said in a press release shared by the brand. "Our newest bra models are part of our brand's ongoing commitment to show real, authentic and unretouched women, who are at the core of everything that we do."

Abby Sams, who is featured in the ads while in her wheelchair shared her excitement for the campaign via Instagram.

Time for something very big. Earlier this summer I was chosen to be an #AerieREAL model for their newest campaign and the other night they surprsied us all by releasing some of the products early. A wheelchair user is a model for a major company! I am PROUD to say I've done this. PROUD to be a part of it. PROUD to be a model representing a community of disabled and chronically ill people. PROUD to be comfortable in my own skin. As a Christian a lot of people have expressed to me their distaste with what I did here with Aerie, but I have something to say to that. God gave us this life, our bodies, and our struggles to glorify him. These photos are not risque, or provocative, or slutty. This campaign is the epitome of confidence and beauty in who you are as your true self. I have confidence in who I am in Christ even with my disability and my wheelchair, and that translates physically. Being a model in a wheelchair for a major company is kind of a big deal and I want to be transparent about it all. Confidence is hard to come by and even harder to master. Just when I thought I had it my disability and illnesses stripped it away. I was embarrassed to be seen in public with mobility aids, hated how everything looked while I was in my chair. Then God put his hand on my heart and reminded me that i am fearfully and wonderfully made in his image. He put me on this path of life to be the light I needed when I was struggling. To remind young disabled women that they're beautiful no matter what. Beautiful with mobility aids. Beautiful in a wheelchair. Beautiful with an invisible illness. Beautiful, not despite those things, but because of them. That is Aerie Real. . . Image description: Abby holding her hair up and smiling over her shoulder. Shes wearing a black lace bralette and sitting in her wheelchair.

A post shared by Abby Sams (@abby_sams) on Jul 11, 2018 at 6:43am PDT

“I am PROUD to say I’ve done this. PROUD to be a part of it. PROUD to be a model representing a community of disabled and chronically ill people. PROUD to be comfortable in my own skin,” she posted. “Being a model in a wheelchair for a major company is kind of a big deal and I want to be transparent about it all. Confidence is hard to come by and even harder to master.”

The ads are part of the company’s #AerieREAL social media movement to promote body positivity.

Photo credit: Courtesy of the brand