“Progress, not perfection, is the road to practical and lasting change.” Activist, model and actress Jameela Jamil fights for diversity in Tommy Hilfiger 2021 campaign.
Magazines and high-fashion brands have been at the forefront of creating toxic expectations for women’s bodies. Editorials were once dominated by impossibly skinny white models. As a reflection, many consumers grew up to have body dysmorphia. Although the fashion industry is slowly starting to reflect real women, airbrushed skin and predominantly white models remain.
Most people recognise Jameela Jamil for her role in the series The Good Place. But she earned real media attention for being vocally unfiltered in regards to body positivity. Jameela continues to be a whistle-blower for self-acceptance and sustainability as she showcases Tommy Hilfiger’s Spring/Summer 2021 collection. Titled ‘Moving Forward Together,’ Hilfiger is making changes to have diverse representation and break away from toxic stigma.
The campaign includes a broad cast of activists like Jameela, including Indya Moore. It is common for fashion brands to use diversity as a form of tokenism. However, Jameela affirms Hilfiger is invested in their message as the models are also giving free educational courses online through FutureLearn.
“Hilfiger is consistently striving to make a positive difference, from having Black trans women fronting a campaign to women of different sizes and ages on the runway. That’s very rare, but if a giant heritage brand can make an effort, so can everyone else.”
Source: Marie Claire.
Hilfiger Is Environmentally Friendly
For years, activists and scientists have declared the destructive impacts of peoples lifestyles are having on the world. Documentaries by David Attenborough are enough to scare people into revaluating their habits. Jamil felt this and ever since she has been making changes in her life and activism to protect the environment.
Jamil has strived to buy long-lasting clothes, keeping away from fashion trends. With Hilfiger’s new collection containing sustainable materials, their collaboration is a no brainer. In a statement, Tommy Hilfiger said,
“I am proud that our Spring 2021 collection is represented by such an incredible and diverse group of people who embody this message. Throughout the season and beyond, I am confident they will inspire fans to drive meaningful, long-lasting change.”
Jamil also told Marie Claire that she is selective about which brands she partners with. Completely aware of her responsibility as a consumer,
“I rarely put my name to anything because you have to be making a huge effort towards making the world a better place for me to go anywhere near you.”
Jameela Verses Body Shaming
She first became an advocate for body positivity after she was publically fat-shamed at 26-years old. After becoming the first solo female presenter on the Radio 1 Official Chart Show, the media targeted her weight gain instead of her success. People then contacted her to sign diet deals. Rather than succumb to negative comments, Jameela went to the House of Commons to discuss how the media treats women.
Her fight did not stop there, in 2018 she started ‘I Weigh community’ to emphasis a woman’s worth beyond her aesthetic. Jameela describes it as a community of kindness, no judgement, no trolling. Along her journey, she caused a new Instagram policy on the promotion of weight-loss products.
However, despite her role in promoting different body shapes, Jameela denies being at the forefront of body positivity. Rather she chooses to support their work, perceiving the body as a vehicle,
“Not a billboard of your worth and health for others to judge as the patriarchy and capitalism would want us to view it.”
Airbrushing models is a primary way for editorials to create a false reality that many young women feed into. Not only do women feel they need to have no hair, bumps or cellulite, but men also expect it. Jameela told Marie Claire that Hilfiger was willing to not airbrush the 35-year old in the collection.
“It’s so deeply problematic and ableist and ageist and fatphobic and racist and misogynist. The archetype of the perfection airbrushing promotes, hates women. It hates our natural form, and it is used as a tool to make us hate our natural form because unhappy people tend to buy more. So they keep us permanently unhappy so we will keep consuming. It’s a scam of deliberately impossible beauty standards to harm our self-esteem.”
Jameela Jamil has undoubtedly become one of the most progressive voices of this generation. As she showcases Hilfiger’s sustainable collection, together they embody a society that minimises waste and welcomes diversity.
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