Velvet D’Amour

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Velvet D'Amour

Velvet d'Amour (born 1967) is the stage name of the U.S.-born woman best known via the worldwide media coverage she received after her appearance as a plus-size model in Jean-Paul Gaultier's 2007 Spring/Summer [prèt-â-porter] collection shown in Paris in October 2006. She also made a catwalk appearance in John Galliano's prèt-â-porter showing entitled "Everybody is Beautiful" in 2006, and in the associated French Vogue article featuring photography by Nick Knight.

At the time of her 2006 runway appearances, D'Amour was a size 28, stood 5 feet 8 inches tall, and weighed approximately 290 pounds. Her primary occupation is as a fashion photographer.

D'Amour's appearance on the catwalk was seen as a response by Gaultier to the international model health debate, although D'Amour is quoted in many interviews stating that [1] Gaultier's intentions were honest. He was in fact, casting his 30 year retrospective and thus he was harkening back to previous collections where he had already incorporated plus size models, which is how she was cast in the first place.

D'Amour also featured in the title role of Avida, the 2006 French film directed by Gustave de Kervern and Benoît Delépine, and produced by Matthieu Kassovitz, which was selected for the 2006 Cannes and 2007 Tribeca Film Festivals amongst others and has been purchased by CINEMA EPOCH for US distribution.