ABC News : American Apparell Snubs Plus-Size Model

[365tolifeproject]

Sep 15, 2011 12:09pm

By Christina Ng

American Apparel Snubs Plus-Size Model Contest Top Vote-Getter

 

Nancy Upton was the winner of the American Apparel contest popular vote. (Photo Credit: Shannon Skloss)

When Nancy Upton entered American Apparel’s “Next BIG Thing” search for a plus-size model, her goal was to mockingly protest the company.  Much to her surprise, she ended up winning the popular vote online with her racy food photos. But the company snubbed her and sent her a long letter explaining why.

Upton called on photographer friend Shannon Skloss and did a photo-shoot with a high-fashion feel, but a clearly ironic message. The images showed a scantily-clad size-12 Upton posing seductively with a variety of messy foods.

“I thought to myself, ‘What are they sitting around in L.A. thinking? What would they see when they look at a fat girl trying to be sexy?’” Upton told ABCNews.com. “Well, she would be eating.”

In one image, she is soaking in a bathtub filled with ranch dressing. In another, she is eating chicken off the bones in a swimming pool.

“I feel like there are two levels [to the photos]. On the surface…the satirical message is I was trying to be sexy, but just couldn’t stop eating,” Upton exclaimed mockingly. “I want to so badly be accepted, but food!”

“But the real message is, I can be fat and I can be beautiful. The two are not mutually exclusive,” Upton said.

While voters loved her statement photos, American Apparel was less than amused.

“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,” American Apparel’s creative director Iris Alonzo wrote to Upton in a letter she posted on her blog, Extra Wiggle Room.

When she first read about the competition, Upton, 24, was offended by the campaign’s tone and choice of words. “If you think you’ve got what it takes to be the next XLent model, send us photos of you and your junk to back it up,” said the competition’s description. The winner would receive a trip to L.A. and a modeling gig for the company.

“I just felt talked down to, like I was being condescended to,” Upton said. “Their pants could be ‘sexy,’ but bigger girls had to be ‘curvalicous’ or ‘booty-ful.’” American Apparel is well-known for its racy–and often controversial–ads featuring super-skinny models in compromising positions.

At the end of the letter, Alonzo wrote: “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.”

Though Upton has no problem with the fact that she will not be representing American Apparel anytime soon, she is happy to have ignited a national conversation.

“I feel like I accomplished what I set out to do on a greater scale than I realized I was doing,” Upton said. “I’ve provoked discussion and promoted awareness about the depiction of plus-size women in the media.”

[Paul Murphy]

Embarrassed American Apparel Agrees To Meet With Nancy Upton, Plus-Size Model Contest Winner

Jessica Wakeman
3:50PM, 09/16/2011 7 Comments

Earlier this week, we enjoyed a delightful “open letter” from Iris Alonzo, creative director of American Apparel, to Nancy Upton, the Dallas woman who won the company’s plus-size model contest by spoofing the nature of the contest. Iris Alonzo was not amused that the lovely Nancy Upton bested the competition with her hilarious pics in which she posed laying in a bathtub of ranch dressing and indulgently squeezing chocolate syrup in her mouth. Iris Alonzo was also not amused about the piece Nancy Upton wrote for The Daily Beast entitled “My Big Fat Photo Spoof,” which explained her actions: because American Apparel was “co-opting the mantra of plus-size empowerment and glazing it with its unmistakable brand of female objectification.” Why, the company was so hopping mad it told Nancy Upton they would be giving the prize to someone else. “While you were clearly the popular choice,” she wrote, “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.” Harsh.

We posted Iris Alonzo’s open letter (sent to us via email) on Wednesday and urged readers to write. I have no idea of knowing how many of you did write her, but one Frisky reader got in touch to say she heard back from American Apparel’s creative director. We’ve got their email exchange after the jump!

This is the email that Frisky reader Shea Grimm wrote to Iris Alonzo:

Dear Iris,

 

By now you’re probably rethinking your response to Nancy Upton after she won your “Next Big Thing” contest. At least, I hope you are. In case you are actually still thinking that your response was fair, justified, or even just good business sense, perhaps this email (and the many lke it you will and no doubt already have received) will disabuse you of that notion.

 

The whole condescending contest was bad enough, but the way your company handled the fallout says even more about you, and it’s not good. Nancy Upton is a beautiful girl and you could have reached out to her and made something very positive out of all of this. Instead you only confirmed that the underlying problems and attitudes in your company that led to the poorly thought out contest promotion in the first place, are deep-seated and permeate your brand. This is a big problem. Do the right thing. Apologize to Nancy, follow the rules of your own contest and award her the prizes, give her a modeling contract, and turn all this nasty publicity into a win not only for American Apparel but for plus-size women and clothing lines. Show America that you’re not who your email response says you are. Until then, neither I nor anyone else I know, will be purchasing anything from AA.

 

Shea G

What a great letter. Here is the email Shea received from Iriz Alonzo in response:

Hi Shea,

 

Thanks for your feedback.

 

I agree. I should have taken a deep breath before clicking send and not let my anger and defensiveness get the better of me. I’m not a mean girl and I am not proud of how I came across.

 

Just so you know, the contest rules stated that we would select two winners from the top 10 voted upon. We seriously considered selecting Nancy, but she made in very clear in a few interviews that she wasn’t interested in working with us even if we did pick her, so we left it at that.

 

Also, I did apologize to Nancy Upton and she has agreed to come to LA to meet myself and my team face to face, to see the factory and then decide how she feels about our company. I really appreciate this opportunity to hopefully show her a better side of myself and AA.

 

Again, thanks for your email. I’m taking the criticisms to heart.

 

Sincerely,
Iris

This response was a hell of a lot more mature than the original “open letter,” given how she shows some self-awareness about just how poorly she and the company came across. To quote Frisky commenter Sassy, “Does [it] not occur to Iris that the nasty sentiments she wrote in her letter exudes a manner that is totally an oxymoron to what she actually says her company is about?” I couldn’t have said that better myself.

I’m pleased the company has apologized to Nancy Upton for their crap behavior and invited her to come to Los Angeles, meet their team, and check out the company herself ... although I suspect that neither will ultimately budge on their opinion of the other. But at least the company might not shove its foot so far in its mouth next time.

If anyone else receives a response to an email to American Apparel, feel free to forward to me at [e-mail] .