They’ve been at the forefront of the Australian body positivity movement with their Any BODY campaign. And now Georgia Gibbs and Kate Wasley are taking their message to the global stage as part of Sports Illustrated’s 2018 swimwear lineup.

The girls hit headlines back in March after a photo of them went viral when Georgia – who is a size 6 – was accused of Photoshopping her plus-sized friend to appear larger than she really is.

Both Georgia and Kate were quick to deny the controversial claims and, in a bid to salvage some good from a largely negative situation, the models founded the inspirational Instagram account any.body_co, which celebrates the diverse range of body types held by women across the world.

Where it all started ^ We posted this picture online, just as best friends going out on the weekend, it got reposted a lot and the controversy started.. You have photoshopped yourself thinner or your friend bigger, what kind of friend are you? Was one of the comments, it broke my heart because Kate and I are best friends why would I do that? The fact that a simple picture of two people together went so viral purely because of their body types shocked me… and @any.body_co was created because no one should have to deal with that and it shouldn't even be acknowledged, all I see here is two women.. not one "skinny" woman and one "curvy" woman, stop comparing everyone to each other and accept every person as beautiful in their own right. #loveanyBODY

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Last week, it was revealed that the Perth-based pals had earned a place in the annual swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated – a magazine which has previously featured stars like Elle Macpherson, Jessica Gomes and Robin Lawley.

The girls have taken to social media to express their excitement at working with a brand ‘that embraces beauty with no boundaries, shape, size, background [or] markings’ and ‘represents women everywhere’.

The SI shoot took place on the Caribbean island of Aruba with Georgia being photographed both individually and alongside Kate.

Feat Image: Instagram @si_swimsuit