Padma Lakshmi feels very comfortable in her skin
The actress and TV host is doing a collaboration with lingerie company Bare Necessities, and while promoting the line, she has been candid about everything from her body image to her sex life.
"Look, I’m at my sexual peak," Lakshmi, 53, told Us Weekly. "Let’s just say what it is. I am. And I feel great about that. I don’t care what anybody thinks. I don’t care what my mother thinks, unless she’s very supportive."
She explained, "I come from a very conservative South Indian family," and noted that she once "really lived in fear."
"I was terrified that my grandfather was going to see those Helmut Newton pictures," she said, referring to an old lingerie shoot by the photographer. "But I am free of all that. I just didn’t meet their expectations at all."
During another recent interview with People, Lakshmi discussed how her relationship with her body has changed as she has gotten older.
"I feel more confident today than I did when I actually looked perkier, tighter, smaller, in my twenties," Lakshmi told the outlet. "So, I wouldn't change that for the world."
Over the years, the model has learned to love all parts of her body, explaining that she asked photographers not to edit out her scar, inoculation marks and stretch marks, saying she wanted them included "because I have them."
"I wouldn't change having that body and that resume of that 23-year-old, with having the resume I do at 53 with the body of a 53-year-old," she says. "I would much rather stay right where I am. I think that's really important to tell girls and young women. But that's really what gave me confidence."
The former "Top Chef" host explained her mission when it comes to her lingerie collaboration with Bare Necessities was to create a line that is "comfortable to wear but also alluring, sexy and feminine," and that has been "designed for women."
Her collection, Padma x Bare Necessities, features 19 pieces, including swimwear, cover-ups, a dress, loungewear, lacy low-cut bras and underwear. She made the collection inclusive to all body types.
"I wanted to have a lower-cut bra that separated the boobs so that it would still look lovely when I wore something low cut," Lakshmi said. "Often you're in a bind as a larger woman. If you wear something low cut, it looks really provocative because your boobs are up there. But if you wear something high-neck, it can also make you look really square. It just closes you off. So, you have to be a bit strategic in how much you show."
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In a press release distributed by the company, she revealed she had "gathered a lot of ideas for how [she'd] build a collection over the years," saying she has "modeled a lot of lingerie in [her] career" and has knowledge "about what works and what doesn't work."
"When Bare Necessities approached me with the idea, I thought this would be a fun, creative challenge," she said in the press release. "I wanted a nice mix of everyday staples, as well as a couple of pieces that felt a little dressier and sexy."
The knowledge she gained from her career as a model helped her understand the importance of making her pieces comfortable. She told People she did not want women to "feel like they have to suffer to look sexy. Suffering isn't sexy at all."
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She believes a woman's lingerie "should reflect" their inner confidence.
"When I look at lingerie and decide what to put on in the morning, if I like what I look like, then anyone else who I may encounter disrobed would like it! It's never about what you wear, it's about how you feel," she explained. "And if you feel good in it, you'll move in a more inviting, attractive way."
The Padma x Bare Necessities collaboration launches June 6.
