| Ali Michael | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alexandra Nicole Michael May 15, 1990 Colleyville, Texas, |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1] |
| Hair color | brown |
| Eye color | blue |
| Measurements | (US) 33-23-34; (EU) 85-58-86.5 |
| Dress size | (US) 4, (EU) 34 |
Alexandra Nicole Michael[2] (born May 15, 1990, in Colleyville, Texas) is an American fashion model who attracted international attention for her weight as a fashion model.
Ali grew up in Colleyville, Texas, and graduated from Grapevine High School in 2008. Her modeling career started after winning the Fashion Dallas/Kim Dawson Model Search contest in 2005 at age 15. She has walked many runways,including Chanel, Christian Dior, and other famous designer brands.
In February 2008, she was sent home from Paris fashion week after being told that "her legs were too plump". This was after Michael had gained five pounds after struggling with an eating disorder that caused her weighing only 106 lb at 5'9". She was then the center of the article "Wasn't Skinny Supposed to Be Out of Fashion?"[3] in The Wall Street Journal on February 28, 2008.
In May 2008, she appeared on the Today Show and talked about the pressure to be thin as a model and the alarming increase over the years to be skinnier. She stated that she "hadn't had [her] period in over a year" and had a wake up call when on a plane she "ran [her] fingers through [her] hair, and when [she] took [her] hand away there was a dry brittle clump of hair in [her] hand".[4] This was before Michael's mother forced her to see a nutritionist, but then she began purging after meals to avoid gaining weight.
In May, she was also in Teen Vogue and spoke about her weight struggle in an article. "I've had a lot of girls come up to me in the mall to say 'Thank you,' and that makes me feel good," Michael said in the February 2009 issue of Teen Vogue in regards to her interview on the Today Show about her weight loss.[5] She also said that she was not alone and many other young (and old) models starve themselves and do not have periods.
After her early departure from Paris after just one show, she returned strong for spring/summer 2009 Fashion Weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris. She graced the catwalks of: Lacoste, ADAM, Matthew Williamson, Marc Jacobs, Max Azria, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Doo.Ri, Paul Smith, Luella, Louise Goldin, Aquascutum, House of Holland, Burberry Prorsum, Iceberg, Fendi, Bruno Pieters, Christian Dior, Balenciaga, Sonia Rykiel, Karl Lagerfeld, Akris, Celine and John Galliano. In addition to her strong comeback, Ali resigned contract with SportMax and a new fragrance contract with Lanvin's Jeanne Lanvin. She also became the face of the new Anna Sui's campaign, Lord & Taylor, Gianfranco Ferre and recently, Coach.
In New York, she enjoys shopping at Opening Ceremony, and in London, one of her favorite clothing brands is Luella, because "it's very young and fun."[6]