Model Hailey Clauson Banished From The Runway At 17: Her Story (VIDEO)

In 2011, when model Hailey Clausen was just 15 years old she was already walking runways for most major designers, including Calvin Klein, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Hermès and Lanvin. She was at the top of the modeling world, then she simply stopped working.

First, design president and fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg made a push for designers to work with models 16 and over only to discover Clausen was only 15 while working on her runway. Then, her parents slapped Urban Outfitters with a lawsuit for selling t-shirts with her unlicensed image on them.

"It was just funny, because I had so many controversies, but I was the most innocent and good 15- to 16-year-old in the world," Clausen says.

But what really made Hailey take a runway hiatus?

Puberty.

In an interview with Women's Wear Daily, she says, "For shows, you have to be tiny. That's why I was 16 [when I was] doing them. It was hard because you're young and you're constantly trying to live up to what you're expected to be, and you don't want to show up to a shoot unconfident. So I took a little break and went home and kind of figured out more who I was as a person. I was like, 'OK, this is how I look now - I can't be 16-year-old Hailey anymore.' It made me understand that I can own myself - if you believe in yourself, then other people around you will believe in you, too. A lot of girls are curvier and going for that sexy, curvy thing. I got some meat on my bones and that's OK."

Now 19, Clausen is back. She made her return to the runway at the Jeremy Scott show and is part of Agent Provocateur's spring campaign. She's also the July cover model for Flaunt is currently featured in the pages of Galore and Sports Illustrated magazines.

See her rocking a tiny bikini for Sports Illustrated below:

Via Daily Mail