“It is better to be different than conform to others, even if this is not understood by everyone,” she said. “My advice is to concentrate on yourself, on who you are and what you really love.”

The remarks come after the Armine Harutyunyan’s “unconventional” appearance sparked a nation-wide debate in Italy last weekend about beauty standards, modelling and body-shaming.

Despite the model having appeared several times now on Gucci catwalks, it seems her inclusion in a list, since revealed to be non-existent, of the 100 sexiest models in the world drawn up by Gucci was the catalyst for the sudden spotlight on Harutyunyan, Forbes writes.

Harutyunyan is a 23-year-old Armenian model and a familiar face at Gucci shows led by Alessandro Michele. However, last week there was an explosion of criticism in Italian media and on social media channels about her “unusual” looks. She became the target of negative and hateful comments insulting her appearance and questioning her validity as a model.