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Back in January, Tess Holliday wore a floaty pink dress decorated with sparkly strawberry appliques to theGrammy Awards.
It wasnt, to hear her tell it, terribly well received.
But she loved it and didnt think much about it after the initial criticism died down in her DMs.
Vulture talked with Holliday about why the dress has garnered such a different reaction.
(Spoiler: Its fatphobia.)
When did you first see the strawberry dress?
I saw how beautiful her dresses were but realized that I didnt see any plus sizes on the site.
I just said, Hey, your designs are ridiculously beautiful.
Do you happen to do plus sizes?
It was the strawberry dress in particular, and she got back to me literally right away.
I didnt have anywhere to wear anything like that at that moment.
Do you feel like you got in on the strawberry-dress ground floor?
Thats actually not it at all.
I dont give a shit about being the first person to wear it.
People have been so mad about the fact that Im discussing how plus-size people are treated.
Theyre like, Well, that hasnt been my experience.
Like, Okay, Donna.
Well, just because thats not your experience doesnt mean that its not real.
So its been … its been really wild.
But here we are.
You said that the dress put you on worst-dressed lists.
What did that feel like?
Do you recall which ones?
I only found one person that mentioned it.
The reality is my inbox was flooded with people criticizing my look for weeks.
To be honest, the worst-dressed part, I feel, doesnt even deserve my recognition or time.
It was ridiculous and frustrating.
That day, Rick Ross literally pulled me aside and told me how beautiful I was.
And I was like, Wow, do I give him my number?
Im such a clown.
Thats what made me mad.
I knew I looked cute.
I spent two weeks with my DMs full of people mentioning me and rating my look.
Ive never seen so many thumbs down in my entire life.
People were doing polls on their Stories.
Are you familiar with the world of cottagecore?
My style is very eclectic, definitely more 60s and 70s inspired.
It feels very thin and able-bodied.
Do you remember when you realized the dress had becomea thing?
I looked, saw that it was in fact trending.
I really started to examine,Well, why is this so popular now?
Why are people acting like its new?Thats when I started to get a little frustrated.
This, I assume, didnt come as a surprise though?
The dress is ridiculously cute.
It looks good on everybody.
But the dress actually only comes in up to a size 18.
She might not be doing it perfectly, but she at least cares.
Were you aware TikTok hasadmittedit intentionally suppressed content from fat creators, as well as queer and disabled creators?
That was why I joined as a fat queer person.
Im often struck by how many of the popular audio clips are inherently fatphobic.
Or the just dont be ugly one.
Its, like,youthsdoing it, and thats part of why I jumped on there.
Have you heard about this eating-carrots-dipped-in-mustard thing?
Its been circulating on TikTok as adiet hack.
I wish I had a dog I could dip in mustard.
Dip half my cat in mustard.
I think PETA might have some thoughts about that.
Oh, I know they would.
Dont get me started on PETA.
But really, this has been my entire career.
How many more times do you think were going to play out this same narrative?
A very, very long time.
If I have to keep being annoying, then you know Im gonna do it.
Correction: This piece has been updated to clarify a detail about Hollidays experience at the Grammys.
