Emily Ratajkowski won't stop talking. Fresh off of a jaw-dropping nude photo shoot and explosive interview with Harper's Bazaar, a Glamour cover story on "the 'attention- seeking' double standard she says women often face," and, of course, a mini Twitter rant where she ruminated on who exactly owns women's bodies in 2016, it's clear the bright and bold model-meets-actress is fired up. And that's exactly why I took the opportunity to speak to the model at DKNY's NYFW show. With fellow model Nina Agdal by her side, we discussed coming to terms with having big boobs, the conversation surrounding the female experience, and whether she prefers boxers or briefs.
Ratajkowski wears a DKNY Intimates Mesh Lightwear Bodysuit, $62; lordandtaylor.com
I saw what you wrote on Twitter today and am so inspired by that. Tell ELLE.com a little bit about your thought process behind it.
You know, it's just an ongoing conversation. Obviously I just wrote the essay for Glamour for my cover and it was about sort of the idea of a lot of people, how they dismiss women by saying 'oh, they are doing something for attention'. I'm really tired of hearing that because I don't think you hear that much about men. The other thing that I feel with everything that's been going on with the burkini ban with people talking about what women should or shouldn't wear, I've gotten really sick of that because it's really about women making a choice.
A lot of people seem to have a lot of opinions on women wearing bras or not wearing bras. Thoughts?
It's no one's business except your own! That is the thing that all women should know and that's what our culture needs to know. We associate boobs with trashiness because we don't see it as something beautiful or we see them as something vulgar because it's scary. I think a lot of people, you know, it gives them power to be able to dictate what people should or should not wear. I'd like to see that stopped.
What sort of advice do you have for a girl who is just developing breasts and may be feeling awkward?
Well, just know that you are going to feel all different ways, people are going to try to make you feel all different kinds of ways. They are going to oversexualize you, they are going to also embarrass you. You are going to get it from every side. The thing you have to realize is that that's their problem, not yours. Your body is your body, it's natural. Learn to love yourself for it.
As a woman with a larger cup size how do you find the confidence to go braless?
I remember being really jealous of girls who had small breasts because they could wear cool T-shirts or have this cute underboob and no one was ever offended. You see that all the time, girls who have less breasts they get away with a lot. That's awesome, but I just decided that sometimes pushup bras or bras in general can sort of change the natural shape of my breasts anyway and they become hypersexualized so it's actually in some ways it's much more chic and much more natural and a lot more sexy in a certain way to be braless.
You're here with DKNY lingerie today. What's your preference when it comes to bras?
No pads, underwire! That's it!
Finally, our menswear editor wants to know: boxers or briefs?
Nothing! Commando [laughs].
