H&M CEO: Some of our models were 'too skinny'

H&M wants to make reality more mainstream.

The company’s chief executive said the Swedish-based brand strives to showcase a variety of body shapes in its advertising, but he admits it's been difficult to follow through.

“Some of the models we’ve had have been too skinny. That’s something we think a lot about and are working on,” Karl-Johan Persson said in an interview with Metro. “We want to show diversity in our advertising and not give people the impression that girls have to look a particular way.”

Last month, the label quietly released its beachwear collection featuring Jennie Runk, a curvier, “more buxom model” with more realistic body proportions, Persson noted. Current ads now feature Beyoncé, “who’s a bit curvier as well,” he said.

“We have a huge responsibility here. We’re a large company, many people see us, and we advertise a lot,” he said.

Persson noted there’s still room for improvement, acknowledging the need for more discipline to correct past “mistakes” in the retailer's choice of models.

“In some cases, there are models where we say, ‘H&M doesn’t work with such models.’ So we’re not blind to the issue,” he said. “But I have to be honest and say that some of our models have been too skinny. That’s not OK.”

An H&M spokeswoman said the company did not have any comments beyond what Persson told Metro. However, she did address media reports that the Swedish-based brand retouched photos of a bikini-clad Beyoncé to shrink some of her famous curves, angering the superstar in the process.

 

Current H&M swimwear ads now feature Beyoncé, “who’s a bit curvier," like some of the brand's other recent models, Persson said.

 

“Our purpose has always been to portray Beyoncé as the strong and beautiful woman she is,” the spokeswoman said. “It has been a good working process and a close cooperation. Both parties are happy with the pictures."

Model size has been trending recently after another retailer’s CEO was quoted as saying his brand refused to make clothing for large women because it didn’t want overweight women wearing their brand.

“In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids,” Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries said in a 2006 interview with Salon that went viral after being highlighted earlier this month in a story by Business Insider.

“Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don’t alienate anybody, but you don’t excite anybody, either.”

Persson didn’t address those comments directly but said the topic of using more realistic models gets raised constantly.

“We’ve talked a lot about it here at H&M. I say, healthy model, always! And everyone here feels the
same way.”

Article from www.today.com

Wendy Williams Shares Weight Loss Secrets & History of Eating Compulsion with Dr. Oz

Talk show host Wendy Williams is talking to the media about her healthy lifestyle change that has produced a 20-pound weight loss and a new outlook on life.
On a last week’s appearance on Dr. Oz, Williams, 49, shared her weight and height, espousing how her new healthy regimen allowed her accept herself, flaws and all:

“I weigh 175 pounds. I’m very accepting of my height and weight and where I am probably for the first time, steadily, in my life. I feel good,” said the former New York-based shock-jock. “It’s not a big deal. It might not be right for everybody, but I am perfect the way I am right now.”

Wendy has had a life long struggle with food. Developing a unhealthy relationship with food when she was younger, Wendy was a closet eater.

“I often wonder, if my parents hadn’t monitored my weight, would I have let it spin out of control or would I be okay?” Williams asked. “I would always sneak in the refrigerator and eat seconds. And underneath my bed, it was littered with Twinkie wrappers and Jolly Rancher wrappers.
“I would sneak-eat, because I was denied food, not because I was hungry, but because my mom and dad did the best they could in 1970 and ’71 and ’72. They didn’t know any better.”

Not shy in front of the camera or an audience, Wendy is shy about eating in front of people — she prefers to eat alone.

“My favorite food is the food I eat by myself,” says Williams. “Now I’ll tell you what I eat so it’s not really sneaking, but I’d rather eat it myself. Whether it’s drive-thru at Taco Bell, pick up one taco on my way to the grocery store.
“I love the grocery store. I would never have my groceries delivered. I would never have anybody grocery shop. Grocery shopping for me is an hour and a half and I’m the girl who takes the free cheese and I luxuriate over the chips and I open them up and I eat them.”
 

 

Article is from www.frugivoremagonline.com

Look of the Week

 

The look of the week will be a little different. I will put looks together but I will not be including places and prices. I like to find items from everywhere to give you outfit ideas and styles. The goal is to recreate these looks on your budget. I hope you enjoy!

It's not always about skinny leg jeans and heels. A nice pant and flats can give off the same fabulous look. Simply pieces paired with the right things can make you look gorgeous. These floral print pants with a solid top will keep the look clean and simply while being stylish. Choosing flats over heels will allow you to be more comfortable. How are you feel this look???

R&B Singer Kelly Price Talks Losing Weight and Gaining Confidence

Women of size are constantly battling fat stigmas from doctors, media and overarching society. Despite her success, soul crooner Kelly Price, has gained and lost weight in the public’s eye. In an interview with CocoaFab, Price tackled her weight loss struggles and the impact it’s had on her music career. Some of the highlights from the interview are featured below:

On her treatment in the music industry:

“I was always the fat girl. It was super extra hard because we didn’t have a whole lot [growing up], so I didn’t dress fly. I didn’t have any of that stuff happening. And then coming into this industry, I was known for being talented, but I was still the fat girl. And it wasn’t what people were looking for. There’s a lot that you hear, there’s a lot of cruelty out there. Some of it comes from the executive offices. It comes from other artists at times. It was a very difficult thing to overcome.”

On being the “jovial” girl:

“When I first came into this business, I had to, for the sake of being able to sell myself as an artist, always be happy and jovial and smiling. I was the happy nice girl. And I am a happy nice girl, but I have my moments too. But you kind of know that you can’t afford to have a bad moment because you’re also the fat girl and you’re going to give them another reason to talk about you. “

On gaining and losing weight:

“I’m a big girl that comes from a big family, with a very slow metabolism and if I don’t exercise I cannot [lose weight]. Even if I’m not doing bad eating wise, I can stay the same, but I can’t lose weight. I have to stay mobile and that’s good for me because I need to keep myself moving. It’s really hard keep on track while being on the road, but I can’t go very long without feeling it. My body will remind me, ‘You have to get up and do something.’ I am grateful for that. In that sense, I’ve retrained my body to miss it if I don’t exercise.”

On the importance of maintaining a healthy weight:

“To be able to use a God-given gift and to live from it and to really live well from it, I would be a fool to allow being undisciplined to cut my life short and so that’s really what it’s about. I fall off the wagon, but you know that wagon is still parked in the garage so I get back on it.”

On God, faith and overcoming stigma:

“I kind of had to come into my own and again it was the realization that I came from nothing, except for my foundation in faith and I’ve been given this great opportunity. And as far as I’m concerned, that happened because God let it happen. There was no person, whether they thought I was too fat, too black, too country, too ghetto, too New York, too thug, too whatever. Nobody ultimately had the say over whether or not I was going to make it. So again, it falls back to my foundation of faith. Sometimes I gotta look in the mirror say, ‘Hey, they’re still saying you’re too fat, but you’re here. They gotta take it or leave it.’ And in most cases, if they leave it, it’s all good because they don’t need to be in my space anyway.”

Article from www.clutchmagonline.com

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