Tess Holliday has insisted that ‘society hates fat people’ after the $490 strawberry dress she was criticized for wearing to the Grammys went viral months later because ‘a bunch of skinny people wore it on TikTok.’
The 35-year-old plus-sized model dazzled in the whimsical pink tulle frock by designer Lirika Matoshi when she walked the red carpet in January, but she’s hardly gotten any credit for the popularity of the dress, which has taken over social media this summer.
Holliday shared photos and videos of herself wearing the look while calling out the double standard that plus-size people face. In her posts, she pointed out that she wore the now famous strawberry dress seven months ago — and was shamed for it.
Take that: Tess Holliday, 35, has clapped back at being named ‘worst-dressed’ after wearing designer Lirika Matoshi’s $490 strawberry midi dress to the Grammys in January
Not right: The plus-size model noted she was criticized for wearing it, ‘but now because a bunch of skinny people wore it on TikTok everyone cares’
Making her case: Holliday called out the double standard, saying ‘society hates fat people’
‘I like how this dress had me on worst dressed lists when I wore it in January to the Grammys, but now bc a bunch of skinny ppl wore it on TikTok everyone cares,’ she wrote on Instagram and Twitter. ‘To sum it up: our society hates fat people, especially when we are winning.’
She thanked Matoshi and her stylist Meaghan O’Connor for making her ‘feel like a princess seven months ago.’
Holliday’s fans took to the comments to praise her red carpet look, with one woman saying the model gave her the confidence to buy the dress.
‘I just finally purchased this dress in May but I saw it for the first time when you wore it and that’s what made me want it so badly!’ she wrote.
Double standard: The whimsical pink tulle dress has taken over social media this summer, and while Holliday was the first to wear it publicly, she’s hardly gotten any credit for its popularity
Going viral: Many TikTok users who have purchased the ‘It’ dress have shared videos of themselves twirling around in it
Summer look: Isabelle Chaput and Nelson Tiberghies, the creators behind the Young Emperors social media accounts, donned his and hers versions of Matoshi’s strawberry dress in May
‘Just know that you inspired me to save up and get this dress and I haven’t found a place to wear it to yet but I feel so confident every time I put it on thanks to you.’
‘YOU are the person responsible for making the strawberry dress a juicy look. End of discussion,’ another wrote.
While Holliday was the first to publicly wear the dress, a number of articles have credited the rise of the ‘cottagecore’ trend with the popularity of the glittery strawberry-covered frock, which has been seen all over TikTok.
Isabelle Chaput and Nelson Tiberghies, the creators behind the Young Emperors social media accounts, donned his and hers versions of Matoshi’s strawberry dress and matching masks in a TikTok video shared in May.
Power of social media: Many people who have gotten the dress said they first saw it on TikTok
Right time: A number of articles have credited the rise of the ‘cottagecore’ trend with its popularity on social media
In demand: Matoshi saw a 738 per cent increase in orders of the dress from July to August
Others have posted clips of themselves unboxing the dress and excitedly twirling in it after trying it on.
Matoshi told the New York Post that she is working 24/7 to fulfill a 738 per cent increase in orders of the dress from July to August.
While speaking with Vulture, Holliday explained she had no idea the dress had become a viral sensation until a friend sent her a Twitter thread about it.
‘This person was like, “I find it really ironic that Holliday wore this dress at the Grammys in January, and no one gave a s**t until slender people on TikTok were wearing it.” I looked, saw that it was in fact trending,’ she said.
Looking back: Holliday shared a video of herself wearing the frock before hitting the Grammys red carpet
Finding out: Holliday explained she had no idea the dress had become a viral sensation until a friend sent her a Twitter thread about it
Real reason: In a series of follow-up tweets, Holliday stressed that she is frustrated by the treatment of plus-size people in fashion, not the fact that she was deemed ‘worst-dressed’
‘I really started to examine, Well, why is this so popular now? Why are people acting like it’s new? That’s when I started to get a little frustrated.’
Holliday said that for weeks after the Grammys her ‘inbox was flooded’ with messages from people who slammed the dress, but it’s not the criticism that bothers her. The model’s frustration is with the fashion industry’s treatment of plus-size people.
‘The real issue that I have is the erasure people are trying to do with my very valid feelings in regard to how plus-size and fat people are treated in fashion,’ she said. ‘The way that people just kind of overlook us and pretend that, you know, we don’t have style, that we aren’t trendy or fashionable. It’s dehumanizing.’
Holliday shared a similar sentiment on Twitter, writing: ‘I’m aware some people said I looked nice in my Grammys dress and I never said I didn’t make best dressed lists as well as WORST dressed, but y’all are purposely ignoring the important part of my post: SOCIETY TREATS FAT PEOPLE LIKE WE ARE INVISIBLE.’