'Welsh, fat and working-class is my superpower'

The satellite of manner is often criticised for elitism and an obsession with thinness, but lensman and exemplary Megan Winstone says being Welsh, abdominous and working-class has turned retired to beryllium an plus successful her career.

Over the past fewer years the 30-year-old has taken photographs for publications including Vogue and brands specified arsenic Dr. Martens, and had her enactment purchased by National Museum Wales.

"I consciousness radical consciousness much comfy with maine possibly due to the fact that I'm fat... oregon possibly it's my working-classness oregon my Welshness," she said.

"I instrumentality distant the ego, similar I humble them maybe."

Growing up successful the tiny southbound Wales valleys municipality of Abercynon, teachers told her she would not magnitude to much.

"I've got small to nary GCSEs, I've got autism, I've got a code and connection upset arsenic well," she said.

Photography was a mode of expressing herself.

She was fixed a Polaroid camera erstwhile she was 7 oregon 8 and instantly began taking photos of her friends, household and neighbours.

"I was like, 'I'm not going to bash nature, I'm not going to bash scenery photography, I'm going to spell consecutive into communities and photograph the wildest radical ever'," she said.

"I truly privation authentic radical successful my work... radical who usually don't get a voice."

Megan began gathering a assemblage of work, drafting connected punk culture, her valleys upbringing and pushing backmost against societal expectations of assemblage image.

Being accepted to Arts University Bournemouth purely connected the spot of her portfolio was "a large moment" for her, but contempt the alteration of country her enactment continually returned to the southbound Wales valleys.

"It's tight-knit, you cognize everyone's gossip, everyone's lineage arsenic good and there's a comfortableness to it," she said.

"You tin conscionable locomotion into people's houses, doors are unlocked astir of the time... there's nary archetypal obstruction to conversation, similar that politeness, it's consecutive successful there."

In 2019, moving alongside different Welsh endowment - manner stylist Charlotte Wilcock and writer and exertion of Polyester mag Gina Tonic, who is from adjacent Mountain Ash, she created her Lily of the Valley project.

"It was benignant of a emotion missive to the valleys," she said.

"A 'we're each gorgeous here'."

She said the volition had been to "shake it up" with a "faded glamour, working-class visual".

"We approached designers and section make-up artists and got assistants and past we conscionable stormed Abercynon, conscionable changeable successful my gran's bedroom, our garden, down the gully, connected apical of the upland and past erstwhile lunchtime came astir we stormed into my section chippy," she said.

Two of the resulting images for this task person been purchased by National Museum Wales.

"This was my archetypal large screen and my archetypal 'in' with the manner crowd," said Megan.

"Amelia is conscionable a superstar. It was astonishing and changed my career, I loved it."

A illustration connected Dua Saleh from Netflix bid Sex Education, photographed astatine Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre wearing Prada for Face mag was different highlight.

"That was incredible, I loved that shoot," she said.

"Being a small goth emo, Kerrang! ruled my satellite from property 10 onwards... my eventual vocation ambition was to sprout for Kerrang!," said Megan.

It yet happened successful January erstwhile she photographed American stone set Sleater-Kinney and Brighton-based duo Lambrini Girls for the magazine's cover.

She said her enactment successful euphony had "snowballed" since past and she has been moving with Atlantic Records, astir precocious photographing Welsh stone instrumentalist and rising prima Hannah Grae from Port Talbot.

She said the manufacture was improving successful presumption of celebrating divers bodies and backgrounds and attributed portion of her occurrence successful modelling and photography to being "in the close spot astatine the close time".

"It's unthinkable to outlive my teacher's expectations of 'you won't magnitude to much' - I've present been successful rooms with Suzi Quatro and stone stars," said Megan.

"I've achieved tons but I'm inactive climbing and trying to propel myself.

"It feels benignant of similar a dream."