How Jada Sezer Rewrote the Rules on Body Image, Business and Success

I see why people would say that I am brave; existing in a body like mine is considered an act of courage, that tells you everything about whose body has been considered normal and whose has been considered an exception. I'd like to live in a world where a woman wearing a swimsuit on a beach doesn't feel like an act of courage, or even matter. That said, I appreciate that label has opened doors for me, allowing me to connect with people and effect change.

Today, I care less about waiting for approval. That defined my modelling years; waiting for the brand to pick me. Now it's all about ownership and creating my own opportunities. It’s not about being liked, it’s about being understood, offering value and knowing my worth. This shift alone has been quietly lifechanging.

Time is so precious and I protect it. I've had an entire overhaul of what my life pre-kids was like. Now: better routine, better sleep hygiene, more food prep, everything I want for my kids, I now implement for myself too.

There are days I look at my own content and ask: am I part of the solution or perpetuating a narrative I don't agree with. Since becoming a mum, leaving modelling and creating CEO MUM I now find myself tackling another industry that needs reinvention. I guess I like to find ways to disrupt currently industries and find solutions that are commercially viable but also aligned with my ethics/ inner compass.

‘On your own terms’, isn't a destination you arrive at. It's a practice you must recommit to, often daily, often quietly, often when no one is watching and no one will applaud you for it. It can be extremely lonely, even when you have a team. There will be moments when you’ll think, “Does this even matter?” It does. Build things you'll be proud of; know the version of success that costs you yourself, is not success. That's what I'm still learning. That's what I hope my children see me figuring out.

People think power is a title, genetics and wealth. Whilst those things can't be overlooked, and play a huge part influencing our culture, I’ve been able to collaborate with powerful people through credibility, relationships, aligned vision and authenticity. We all have our own power, everyone does, it's about leaning into it, owning that sector, understanding who would be interested in your proposition and where you add value.

Becoming a mother has completely shifted how I think about visibility, success and ambition. It happened very quietly, in a very unglamorous moment. My twins were a few months old, and I was sitting on the floor, an actual floor. I had an electric pump in my bra, replying to emails, rocking one twin and bouncing the other with my foot! Then I stopped for a second and thought: they have no idea what I do for a living. They don't know about the campaigns or the followers or any of it. They just know whether I show up. That broke something open in me. I realised success was time, the freedom to control my time. Not the covers, places you get invited to or people you know. It’s just time to be with the people you love and have the choice of how you spend it.

When I was a plus-size model, I was promoting diversity but also selling beauty. I was driven by my community; by receiving messages from girls saying they had bought a dress I’d worn, and how confident they now felt. It spurred me on; and proved that representation mattered and sold clothes.

I no longer have managers and agents. I've built a small team that works with me and I set the pace. I'm learning the power of generating my own opportunities, wealth, progress. It’s been hard but I've seen the results.

There is a myth that representation is enough. That if we just see more bodies, more sizes, more shades, something fundamentally shifts. It doesn't, not on its own. I remember being booked for a campaign that genuinely felt progressive. Diverse cast, no retouching policy, the whole rhetoric. The following year, that same brand included zero diversity in its ad campaign.

Representation without structural change, is not just about who holds the camera, who directs, who signs off, but supporting more diverse creatives and designers to reimagine how we can sell clothing to women. We see that shift in film and tv, female producers articulating the female experience: more nuance, more agency.

Telling a woman that she needs to live and breathe her job undermines and brushes aside what it means to be human.