Car Cleeb: Candice Swanepoel has her curves back again in new Victoria's Secret lingerie line

Monday, June 20, 2011

Candice Swanepoel has her curves back again in new Victoria's Secret lingerie line

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 8:28 AM on 20th June 2011

Victoria's Secret model Candice Swanepoel has regained the sensational curves that made her famous, thanks to a sensible eating regime.

Swanepoel, 22 , showed off her enviable figure in the lingerie company's new campaign shoot this week, and it's a relief that she's looking voluptuous again.

The stunning South African looked beautiful in a range of brightly coloured animal prints, diamante and striped bikinis, not to mention lacy underwear.

Va-va-voom: Candice Swanepoel shows her curves off in the new Victoria's Secret range, it's a promising sign after her worryingly frail appearance in March

The sensuous shots are a breath of fresh air after the shocking image of an stick-thin Swanepoel modelling the company's swimwear at The Mondrian hotel in Los Angeles last March.

Swanepoel looked worryingly frail even next to her Victoria's Secret counterparts, Alessandra Ambrosio and Adriana Lima.

Worryingly thin: The photograph of Swanepoel that caused such concern

The blonde looked emaciated, with a concave stomach and impossibly slender legs that appeared almost too tiny to hold her five-foot-nine frame.

It was an image that created controversy for the famous company, who had made a name by choosing more voluptuous models to promote their wares.

Their look was first and foremost 'healthy,' but Swanepoel's appearance suggested that they'd finally given in to pressure and followed suit with the rest of the fashion world, by using skinnier models.

Curvy supermodels Heidi Klum, Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks have all walked the catwalk for Victoria's Secret over the years.

Swanepoel claims that she has difficulty maintaining a healthy weight because of her hectic work schedule.

'Actually, this year my problem has been more putting the weight on and getting muscle on because it's been really busy,' she told U.S. television's ABC News during New York Fashion earlier this year.

'I've been travelling around like crazy. I get skinnier if I'm very busy.'

And she never saw a problem with her weight, even at her very skinniest.

'I am healthy and happy,' Swanepoel told American magazine, People in April. 'I'm heartened to know how much everyone cares about me, but in this case, everything is normal and good.'

In the three months since the startling swimwear shoot, Swanepoel has thankfully listened to her critics and gained some much-needed pounds to get her back to a healthy weight.

Healthy: Swanepoel now looks like she eats a healthy amount of food

In black and white: The proof that Swanepoel is back on form is in the pictures

Sex kitten: Swanepoel rocks leopard print

On her modelling card by agency IMG, her statistics are given as 33-23-34 and a US dress size 8 (UK size 12), and she finally seems to be nearing that size again.

The model shot to fame at the age of 15 when she was spotted by a scout at a Durban flea market and has since appeared on the covers of Vogue and Elle, in Diesel, Nike and Guess campaigns.

She has also walked the runways for the world's top designer's including Tommy Hilfiger, Dolce and Gabbanna and Diane Von Furstenberg.

Last year, the stunning blonde has earned herself a spot at number ten on the Forbes World's Top-Earning Models list, with estimated earnings of $3 million over the past 12 months.

She won the coveted role of a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2010, following in the footsteps of international beauties such as Giselle Bundchen and Heidi Klum.