Last month, we were intrigued when refreshingly outspoken plus-size model Tess Holliday took to Instagram to share an intriguing, if sort of cryptic, peek at a project she was working on. The video featured Holliday and a size-inclusive slew of other models donning just jeans and black bras in Toronto's Union Station. They all held up signs with body positivity-lauding prompts to join the conversation (although we weren't all that sure at the time what the conversation was about, exactly), along the lines of "Insta this...for size acceptance."
The reason for the statement-making, shirtless turnout? Penningtons, a Canadian retailer, was rolling out the latest installment of its #IWontCompromise campaign. Holliday was the first to post about the inspiring stunt: "Yes to body diversity. Yes to walking through Union Station in just your bra & jeans. Yes to us embracing our bodies at all stages," the model wrote. A number of other models that eschewed shirts in the middle of a busy train station posted their own empowering sentiments on social media this week, concurrent with Penningtons' release of a campaign video. (One of the models that participated, Courtney Mina, shared that she was even months pregnant at the time.)
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Holliday paired up last March with the Canadian retailer on a collaboration dubbed Tess Holliday x Mblm. The year-long collaboration has been comprised of monthly drops of new items, all priced under $100. “It's all about having a few statement pieces, but mostly your basic everyday pieces that are staples in your wardrobe,” Holliday told Refinery29 when the line launched. “I call it ‘effortless,’ because that's what I really wanted for the line. Something you know will work and make you feel good and requires little effort.” Tess Holliday x Mblm's summer collection is launching in Penningtons stores and on the retailer's site in April. (The model wore jeans from her Mblm line for last last month's spectacle in Toronto.)
Check out the full campaign video from the retailer's empowering #IWontCompromise turnout last month, below.