Nancy Upton was a size 12 woman with a message: If American Apparel was going to treat plus size women like the butt of a joke, she wouldn’t take them seriously either. She entered their “The Next Big Thing” plus size modeling contest with photos of her gorging on chicken.
Upton did more than made her point; she won.
Even though tens of thousands of people voted for her to win the popular vote, American Apparel has remained mum on the contest results. The retailer has taken down the contest page, but has yet to announce a winner.
Upton told the Daily Dot she doubts American Apparel will acknowledge her.
“Either they will politely tell me congratulations for getting the most votes, but they won’t be awarding me the grand prize, or they will offer me the grand prize, and I will politely decline,” she said.
Upton said she never wanted the grand prize. She’d rather use her win to kindle discussion about beauty, fashion and weight. This goal was a success; on her Tumblr, Extra Wiggle Room, she has listed almost fifty blogs and websites writing about her statement to spark debate. Not all of the articles are flattering, but Upton posts them anyway.
“Remember- it’s all objective, and we all deserve our say. Agree or disagree, the lines of discussion are open, and that’s always important (at least in my book),” she wrote of a particularly vitriolic opinion.
American Apparel might be the only place that’s remained quiet on the issue of Nancy Upton. But the Texan blogger never expected a reply.
“Honestly, I expect they’ll just announce that someone else “won” and I’ll never hear from them,” she said.
