Jess Quinn

In this episode of The Style Project, host and style coach Caitlin Taylor sits down with New Zealand model and body diversity advocate Jess Quinn. Jess shares her remarkable journey from losing her leg to cancer at age nine, to becoming one of the most recognizable voices in the body image conversation, and how that journey has shaped her relationship with style, self-worth, and the world around her.

- How Jess went from 1,000 Instagram followers to viral sensation and full-time model and advocate in the span of three months

- Why Jess describes her personal style as comfortable, oversized, and masculine, and what that reveals about the deep connection between body experience and clothing choices

- The honest conversation around the body positivity movement and why constant focus on bodies, even in a positive framing, can be counterproductive

- Jess's petition to require disclaimers on retouched images in New Zealand media, and how it became the most-signed petition in the country that year

- The complicated line between personal choices like makeup, fake tan, and cosmetic procedures versus Photoshop and filtered social media imagery

- Why clothing sizes are largely meaningless and how shopping for fit rather than label can transform how you feel getting dressed

- The moment Jess decided to stop letting cancer take her happiness, and how she faked confidence until it became real

- What brands like Dove and Bras N Things are doing right when it comes to authentic body diversity in advertising

Resources and people mentioned:

- Taryn Brumfitt and the documentary "Embrace"

- Katie Wilcox, model and owner of Jess's modeling agency in America

- Dove body image campaigns and parent resources

- Bras N Things body diversity campaign

- Ruby, a New Zealand fashion brand

- Ellie's Belly (Instagram account recommended by Caitlin)

- Jess Quinn on Instagram: @jessquinn

- Caitlin Taylor: ChasingKate.com, Facebook and Instagram @ChasingKateStyleCoach