Just over a week ago I wrote about Nancy Upton, the 24-year-old student from Texas who entered the American Apparel plus-size 'model' contest The Next Big Thing with spoof photos in order to make a statement about how certain 'hip' retailers regard women size 12 and over. (Persona non grata would just about describe it in three words.) Visitors to the contest website were able to vote for their favorite photos, and the highest vote-getter was to have been named the winner. The big perk -- appearing in American Apparel photos introducing their new XL line.
Very quickly Upton became a viewer favorite and clearly ran away with the votes. Yet her very vocal protest of American Appparel's cutesy, demeaning approach toward "booty-ful" plus-sized women made the company uncomfortable.
Upton, along with umpteen media outlets, received a "Dear Nancy" letter on September 13 which read in part:
It's a shame that your project attempts to discredit the positive intentions of our challenge based on your personal distaste for our use of light-hearted language, and that "bootylicous" was too much for you to handle....I wonder if you had taken just a moment to imagine that this campaign could actually be well intentioned, and that my team and I are not out to offend and insult women, would you have still behaved in the same way, mocking the confident and excited participants who put themselves out there?...
Oh - and regarding winning the contest, while you were clearly the popular choice, we have decided to award the prizes to other contestants that we feel truly exemplify the idea of beauty inside and out, and whom we will be proud to have representing our company.
Is it just me, or does the language sound like it's straight out of a Glee script? (I take that back -- Sue Sylvester would have said in 14 sharp, biting words what American Apparel took 40 to stumble through in the bolded lines above.)
The letter in its entirety is one the most smug, stinging responses I've ever read. And this -- coming from a major retailer -- should be added to the "Classic Examples of Bad Crisis Management" file, because it doesn't take much forethought to realize these words would be reproduced all over the internet.
As Elizabeth Nolan Brown writes at Blisstree:
...[T]he snarky, passive-agressive open letter American Apparel creative director Iris Alonzo wrote to Upton when they realized she was satirizing the contest is inexcusable. Alonzo reacts like a popular girl in high school who just realized OMG the fat girl was making fun of her, and the other kids were actually laughing!
Poor American Apparel keeps screwing up big time (and no -- no pun intended.)
Belatedly, they've attempted some damage control with a fresh new olive branch waved desperately in Upton's direction. Yesterday, Fox News posted that the company has done a 180 degree turn and invited her to fly out -- on their dime -- to Los Angeles:
"[American Apparel] extended an offer to tour the factory and sit with some of the creative directors to discuss what happened with the contest and have a dialogue about advertising to a different demographic," Nancy Upton tells Fox411 exclusively.
But Upton, 24, doubts that her upcoming visit, scheduled for later this month, will change her mind about the company's approach to bigger gals, and tells Fox411 that if they ask her, she will refuse an offer to model in an American Apparel ad...."I have opinions about the company that won't be changed by my visit."
Funny how the woman who a week ago didn't "truly exemplify the idea of beauty inside and out" suddenly has valuable insights to offer. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...yadda yadda yadda.
If American Apparel is being honest about wanting to advertise to a different demographic, they should just turn to their hometown paper for advice. The Los Angeles Times said it best in a March 2009 article:
...[T]he average U.S. woman, who's 162.9 pounds and wears a size 14, is treated like an anomaly by apparel brands and retailers -- who seem to assume that no one over size 10 follows fashion's capricious trends....[and] aren't connecting with the demographic.
"Are all big girls supposed to dress like Midwestern farm wives?" asks one reader. "We have money -- why don't they want to sell to us?"
Another adds, "I don't want any more polyester, hip-hop gear, frumpy jeans and themed capris! I want the designers not to assume that I am a frumpy 55-year-old, middle-management employee. . . . Is anyone listening to us?"
More about Nancy Upton and American Apparel:
Spoofing Fat Girl Stereotypes: Will Nancy Upton Be "The Next Big Thing"?
Comments
But if nobody helps build bridges when a former offender may be trying to learn a new perspective, how will peaceful change ever occur? I would go with an open mind to see whether the company folks are ready to engage, no matter how imperfect the attempt. Polarization is doing our country in. Extending even a neutral reception to people trying to change can be empowering for the one doing the extending.
As far as the clothes available for larger women, I agree totally. If I were younger, I would come out with classic clothing for women of all sizes and make a ton of money! Come to think of it, most of the clothing available for women of all sizes today is silly: skimpy, uncomfortable, poorly made, and over-priced.