H&M CEO Admits Models Were ‘Too Skinny’; ‘Just Thin’ Ones Get Free Pass

Karl-Johan Persson, the “young, handsome CEO” of H&M, recently gave an interview to Metro (probably because of their ability to

Is this model "too skinny?" (H&M)
Is this model “too skinny?” (H&M)
Karl-Johan Persson, the “young, handsome CEO” of H&M, recently gave an interview to Metro (probably because of their ability to report objectively), during which he finally addressed the longstanding industry problem of anorexia. While admitting that H&M had previously employed models that were “too thin,” Mr. Persson that trumpeted his company’s use of “curvier” models…like Beyonce.

Also, they still plan to use “just thin” models…as long as they weren’t purposefully underweight. So…nothing changes!

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The full quote, below:

There’s a lot of debate about anorexic models right now. Shouldn’t H&M introduce curvier models? If it did, both consumers and the fashion industry would listen…

We have a huge responsibility here. We’re a large company, many people see us, and we advertise a lot. I don’t think we’ve always been good. Some of the models we’ve had have been too skinny. That’s something we think a lot about and are working on. We want to show diversity in our advertising and not give people the impression that girls have to look a particular way. By and large, I think we’ve succeeded: we’ve many different kinds of models from different ethnic backgrounds. In our last campaign we had a somewhat more buxom model, and now we’re having Beyoncé, who’s a bit curvier as well. I believe that the models in our advertising should look sound and healthy. There are models who’re too thin or obviously underweight, but there are also those who’re just thin, and they’re the ones we should keep working with, as long as they look sound and healthy. We can get more disciplined, because sometimes there have been mistakes.

H&M CEO Admits Models Were ‘Too Skinny’; ‘Just Thin’ Ones Get Free Pass