The H&M clothing catalog is out but the big news is not about the threads. It's about their most popular model, one Jennie Runk. You see, Jennie is more than just a beautiful model. She is a Plus-Sized beautiful model.

Plus-sized models are not something one sees with any frequency in fashion or retail catalogs, for reasons only the designers can answer, but it has something to do with their thinking skinnier models look better in clothing than heavier ones.

But the reaction to Jennie Runk has been spectacular.  

Shoppers are praising the catalogue, and H&M. Jennie has scored legions of fans nearly overnight with her sexy swimsuit shots. Now, she wants to use her sudden fame to help body-conscious girls improve their self-esteem and their self-confidence.

H&M's newest star was volunteering at a Missouri Petsmart, wearing too-short sweatpants and no makeup when she was discovered by a modeling scout, at the age of just 14 years old, according to the New York Daily News.

Since then, Jennie Runk has fast-tracked from awkward high schooler to fashion fame as the hottest plus-size model of the moment..

But her journey had a rocky start, reported the BBC News. "While the thin girls were wearing shorts, I was wearing sweatpants because my thighs were the size of their waists."

"I also had thick, curly hair that only drew more attention to me, hiding behind braces and beige, wire-rimmed glasses," she wrote in the BBC.

Runk, who grew up in Georgia and Missouri and moved to New York two years ago, described herself as "the quiet type who reads books, plays video games and might be a little too obsessed with her cat."

Her sudden fame, prompted by the virally successful H&M swimwear campaign, encouraged Runk to reach out to young women struggling with body issues.

"Having finally survived it, I feel compelled to show girls who are going through the same thing that it's acceptable to be different," Runk wrote. "You will grow out of this awkwardness fabulously. Just focus on the best possible version of yourself and quit worrying about your thighs, there's nothing wrong with them."

Fashion fans applauded Runk - a size 14 - and H&M for the realistic but sexy shots in the brand's recent catalog.

 "So much better than a stick-thin bag of bones," one commenter wrote. "Hope other retailers follow this and have more real women modeling their clothes."