Tommy Hilfiger reveals the reason Gigi Hadid rocked his runway in a poncho & the answer will shock you
Gigi Hadid is one of the most ubiquitous supermodels on the scene. It seems as if she’s on every magazine cover and in every major fashion show. That’s because, girl is a pro. Last fall she walked in Tommy Hilfiger’s show during New York Fashion Week, and true to form, she rocked it in a red poncho. But apparently there is a darker, totally un-cool reason Gigi was selected to wear an oversized coat.
Designer Tommy Hilfiger sat down with Yahoo Style’s Joe Zee for a game called “Tommy Time,” where the designer revealed unknown details behind certain photos or events. When showed the picture of Hadid in the poncho, Hilfiger described Hadid as “All-American girl next door, with an exotic twist to her look.”
But the designer regretfully admitted, the casting director for the show put Hadid in the red poncho because she didn’t “fit in”. “She’s not quite as tall as the other girls,” the casting director apparently said. “She’s not quite as thin.”
Unfortunately, these comments show that body shaming is still alive and well in the fashion industry, and something many models are subjected to. And even Hadid, now an A-List supermodel, cannot escape the dark cloud of “not good enough.”
Hilfiger told Page Six that he was unhappy with the casting director’s decision to hide Hadid’s body. The poncho, “received millions of hits,” Hilfiger stated and he knew it was because of Hadid’s presentation of it. He told Zee, “So I said, ‘why don’t we ask her to design a line with us.’” And he did just that. Together, Hilfiger and Hadid created the TOMMYXGIGI line, now available for online purchase.
In Hilfiger’s Spring 2016 fashion show, Hadid broke her existing stereotype and walked the runway bearing all in a string bikini.
Hadid opened up about her experiences with fashion industry body shaming on her Instagram last year. She admitted that she did let the negativity get to her at first, but shared, “I came to a realization that when one gets to this point, it’s important to rethink why you’re doing what you do. What your message is. What you have to say.”
She writes that the mean comments do not make her want to change her body, because if she didn’t have the body she has, she wouldn’t have her current career that she so thankful to have.
“I hope everyone gets to a point in their life where they’d rather talk about the things that inspire them over the things that bring others down. At least be open if not part of the change, because it’s undeniably happening,” Hadid states.
And we’re so thankful that it is. You rule, Gigi. [/subheader
