Bree’s story
Bree McCann is a body positive pioneer, swimwear business owner and an Australian model with a global footprint. She loves to surf and has a heart to bring change & diversity to the fashion & modelling industry.
Bree’s journey to genuinely love the skin she’s in started at a young age, “When I was younger, I was always bigger, curvier and taller than all of my friends. At that age you can be so hard on yourself and I definitely wished I could change a million things when I looked in the mirror. As I got older, my mindset started to change and I slowly started to appreciate things about myself that I previously didn’t like.”
She describes self-confidence as a process that takes time. “No one wakes up in the morning feeling perfect everyday. No matter who you are or what you look like, it’s a choice to be positive and to be kind to yourself.”
Bree was scouted to become a model a few times in high school but she was always told she was ‘too big’. A few years later, whilst she was studying at university, she was again scouted and this time, signed! Bree shared that, “plenty of people tried to tell me that I couldn’t have a career at my size or would ask what I planned to do “after” but I never really paid much attention to those people. I just kept quietly working hard and staying in my own lane.”
She also said, “The first few years were quite hard and I felt like I was always going against tide. It was like constantly having to prove yourself….prove you deserved to be at the casting, prove you could book the job, prove you could model, prove you could sell the clothes! But there was definitely a point where things started to shift and diversity started being celebrated. From then on things got a lot easier and all of a sudden all these incredible doors were being opened that weren’t there before.”
Now, Bree is one of Australia’s most sought-after curve exports. She was the first curve model to feature on the cover of Women’s Health Australia as well as the first to walk the MBFWA Runway in 2018. Both of which were lifelong dreams – proving that beauty and health are not a size.
Bree has been fortunate enough to work with and meet so many incredibly diverse models from all over the world. However, she never understood why they weren’t used more for major campaigns or for Fashion Week Shows. Bree explained that to her, “It seemed crazy that we had so much diversity in our population but we only allowed one type of model in fashion.” This experience formed her passion for embracing diversity and bringing change to the industry.
I had the honour of asking Bree what her thoughts were about how we could introduce more diversity into the industry. Her response was so profound.
“We know that society is demanding diversity now. We know that women want to feel represented in advertising with more relatable body types and ethnicities. So, now I think it really comes down to the brands making choices that lead to small changes which can break the chain of what has previously been done.
It’s about getting samples made in other sizes, it’s about opening up the casting process, it’s about broadening the spectrum of beauty and making customers feel included.
Brands are becoming more accountable now which is great but I think a lot of them still use excuses like “we can’t find the models” or “our samples are size 6” which I totally disagree with. The brand dictates what size the sample is from the factory and they can ask for different sample sizes. There are incredible diverse models out there, you just have to find them. Diversity is possible, you just need to make the choice to open that door!”
Just last year, Bree launched a curve friendly swimwear label, CODE B. Her inspiration came from the realisation that mainstream brands were often too skimpy and then plus-size brands were always a little bit old or outdated. “There was nothing in the middle - which is crazy because that is where the majority of women are!”
She also also really wanted to use all these incredibly diverse models I have been surrounded by as a model! I never understood why swimwear was always shot on one size model. She explains, “I guess I just felt like there wasn’t really anyone owning that space and I wanted to give it a shot. Making the transition to running my own business has been tough and I have had to learn A LOT in a short space of time, but I love having my own brand to work on.”
3 quick questions
Favourite thing about being a woman?
I love that you can be strong and powerful but also feminine and sexy. We can have it all these days and I love having that choice!
What do you believe makes a woman beautiful?
It’s cliché but for me it’s always confidence! I love when women are unapologetically themselves. I really admire women who are just living their life, on their own terms and owning who they are. If I am having a down moment or bad day, I always try to think about these kind of women – or the kind of woman I want to be – and think what would they do or how would they react.
What is one piece of advice you would give to women of all ages?
My fav quote has always been “Fate rewards the brave”. I really believe that positive attracts positive! You really can achieve all that you want to and more when you get in the right headspace.