The Swindon model challenging fashion’s beauty rules
Swindon-born Natalie-Amber Freegard began modelling at just four years old, landing her first campaign for the town’s Steam Museum. What started as a local opportunity has since grown into a national platform challenging how disability and difference are portrayed in mainstream media.
Now recognised as a leading diversity and inclusion speaker, Freegard has taken her story of Crohn’s disease, emergency surgery and life with and after a stoma from hospital wards to Parliament and international stages. Her advocacy centres on visibility for women of colour and those living with hidden disabilities.
Beyond modelling, she works as a Level 3 personal trainer specialising in women with chronic illness and uses her platform to push brands towards authentic, sustained representation rather than one-off campaigns.
In this exclusive interview with the Diversity and Inclusion Speakers Agency, Freegard speaks candidly about stigma, scars and why meaningful inclusion requires more than a marketing moment.
Q1. You have been unusually open about your misdiagnosis, surgery and recovery. What drove you to share that journey publicly?
Natalie-Amber Freegard: “It’s the fact that there was nobody for me when everything happened with my misdiagnosis. I didn’t have anybody to relate to or to look up to, so I became that person.
“Back in 2018, it was a really dark place for me. I tried to come out of that with acceptance of my scar and the fact that I had a stor at the time. When I went to post on social media, I was in a really bad relationship. Horrible guy. Thank you, Nex. He said, “Nothing worse than having a bag. If you move on, don’t on anyone.” These are his exact words.
“When I posted a picture of my scar, he said it was attention seeking, so I took it down. No one really saw it. It took me so long to get to that place. I would wear jogging bottoms high up because my scar starts here and goes down. I thought if I wore them here with a crop top, there’d be a small gap so no one would know I had a scar. It was a strange way of thinking.
“Because I went through all of that, I vowed that I didn’t want any other person or woman to feel that way. That’s what motivates me now. I get lots of messages from women with scars or stor saying I’ve helped them, especially with the toilet aspect.
“Now I’ve had my sto reversed, I’m very open about that. Back then, I would never have spoken about poo or pooing myself on a big platform. Now I’ve embraced who I am and it’s helped so many people. That’s what motivates me.”
Q2. You started modelling as a child. How has the industry evolved in terms of representation and inclusion?
Natalie-Amber Freegard: “I was modelling from the age of four. This was before we knew I had Crohn’s disease. My first job was for Steam Museum because I live in Swindon. My mum’s a graphic designer and did the campaign.
“As a mixed race little girl, there wasn’t really anybody else that looked like me. Representation just wasn’t there. When everything happened with my scar, I genuinely thought that was it. I’d never get booked again because there was no representation. In dance school, we were trained to think how you look is how you get booked. That threw me.
“During lockdown, body positivity came about and my work picked up. I did a massive campaign for PLT in Italy. I was the only model with a scar. I later found out I got the lesser pay, which upset me because I felt like the token model. Even now, when you think of scarred models, I can’t name one. That’s why I tried to become that person.
“It’s up and down. Now the Ozempic phase has come in and disabled or curve models have been pushed aside again. Fashion is a trend, but bodies shouldn’t be. Everybody deserves to feel seen. There’s still no sit down fashion or visible scar representation. It feels like we’ve gone back to not feeling seen again.”
Q3. You speak powerfully about representation beyond fashion. What does that word mean to you personally?
Natalie-Amber Freegard: “When I was 18, I went to New York with my mum. In a big toy shop they had make your own Barbies. I never had a Barbie that looked like me growing up. There were two shades, white or black, straight hair for all of them, but none that looked like me. I was really disappointed because I wanted to make one that looked like me.
“Since then, I’ve wanted brands like Barbie to include things like scars. I never had that representation growing up. Representation isn’t just modelling. It’s toys, action figures, Lego. It’s seeing yourself somewhere.”
Q4. Brands often say they support diversity. From your experience, what does meaningful inclusion actually look like?
Natalie-Amber Freegard: “They shouldn’t be afraid of using us. They’re scared of tokenism. Pretty Little Thing have never used again a model with a scar or in a wheelchair since that campaign. For me, that is tokenism.
“A brand should do it consistently and not make a big deal out of it. People will always have something to say. I model for Leanne Pinto’s swimwear brand and she’s used me consistently, not just for bikinis but for tracksuits as well. That’s real representation because they’re not making a big deal out of it.
“ASOS has started to get better. You’re seeing the little diabetes things and hearing aids, which is amazing. But we’re still not seeing sit down fashion or visible scars. They need to stop being scared of backlash. If you treat us like any other model and it isn’t a thing, people will believe you.”
This exclusive interview with Natalie-Amber Freegard was conducted by Tabish Ali of the Motivational Speakers Agency.