I've known a couple of women that did some modeling, and big tattoos were always a no-no.
Little ones that could be covered or hidden were ok, but anything other than that left you unemployable.
None of the really big models have tattoos, the only ones I can think of are Stephanie Seymour and Giselle Bundchen.
Most models understand that their job is all about making the clothes look good while conveying whatever story the designer/photographer/art director has come up with--the photos, or their appearance on the runway, are about showcasing the clothes, not them.
Tess has never understood this. In her mind,
she's the one who is the center of interest, and the clothes are just incidental. She's the one doing a designer or manufacturer a favor by appearing in their campaign. So she doesn't have to come up with a wider range of facial expressions or poses than she's already got, and she can get whatever tattoos she likes, and it's totally okay if she shows up for a shoot and none of the clothes fit because she's lied about her measurements--
she's Tess Holliday, damn it.
A tiny,
tiny percentage of models not only make the clothes look amazing, but also have a look of their own that makes them stand out from every other tall, thin, young, symmetrically-featured girl. They're the ones designers latch onto as muses, and who make people thumbing through fashion magazines stop at their photos and want to know, "Who is
she?" They're the rare ones who get to be supermodels.
Tess was never a supermodel; she's at best a niche model, who can't even model in her own fatgirl niche anymore because she's too fat. Even before the pandemic, the only gigs left to here were being trotted out as a monstrous novelty.
But right now, when garment sales are in freefall, when there are no runway shows, and limited photo shoots due to the pandemic, and with no sign of either economic recovery or an end to the pandemic any time soon? Nobody's wasting time or money hiring Two-ton Tessie for shock value.
By the time we're all through this and things start to improve, the fashion industry will have taken a sustained, and very traumatic, beating. A lot of indie brands--the kinds that like to hire Tess--will have either gone under, or still be surviving only by the skin of their teeth.
Tess is dumb and vain enough to think she'll have a career to go back to, once Covid-19 goes away and the world goes back to normal. Boy, is she in for a rude awakening.