Tommy Hilfiger sparks fashionista feud by suggesting supermodel Gigi Hadid is ‘too fat’ to wear his clothes
Designer has been accused of 'fat-shaming' the blonde beauty
TOMMY Hilfiger has sparked a fashionista feud by fat-shaming supermodel Gigi Hadid.
The fashion designer, 65, claimed Gigi, who’s the face of his iconic brand, was too fat and short to model on his runway, but got the gig because she has a huge social media following.
He referred to her body size when quizzed by stylist Joe Zee why the catwalk star wore a huge oversized coat for his New York Fashion Week show last June.
Tommy said: “Our casting director said, ‘She doesn’t really fit because you know she’s not quite as tall as the other girls, she’s not quite as thin.’”
Despite modelling for the likes of lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret and designer names such as Chanel, Versace and Marc Jacobs, Gigi was made to disguise her slim figure in the coat.
He continued: “They put a red, white and blue poncho on her. It covered a lot of her body unfortunately, but it received millions of hits.
Fans of the US model, 21, who dates ex-One Direction star Zayn Malik, 23, were quick to hit back against the fat shaming comments.
Olivia DiMambro Tweeted: “Apparently Gigi Hadid was too fat and short to walk in Tommy Hilfiger’s show in 2015. I’m officially a potato.”
Alie Daniels wrote: “If Gigi Hadid is too short and fat to walk in the Tommy Hilfiger fashion show, can I be too short and fat to walk in the Tommy Hilfiger show?”
Mina Gerges added: “Apparently Tommy Hilfiger thinks Gigi Hadid is “too fat.” Jokes of them. I won’t be buying their ugly clothes now.”
After facing a huge backlash yesterday (Thurs) while the story was trending on Twitter, Tommy desperately tried to retract his comments.
He said: “The casting people put Gigi in the poncho and I was not happy.
“I was saying, ‘Don’t hide her body.’
“The suggestion that I thought she wasn’t thin enough upsets me to no end.”
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Gigi’s previously spoken out about being turned away from agencies when she first started modelling for being “overweight.”
She admitted: “When I first went to visit different agencies in New York, a lot of them were like, you have to lose a lot of weight.
“I used to cry at night and my mum would be like, ‘We’re going to find the right people.’”
Since the 2015 show where Gigi was forced to wear a red coat, the star has gone onto model for the brand wearing nothing but lingerie.
The designer’s comments come after Bradford-born Zayn told of how he loves cooking roast dinners for girlfriend Gigi.
He revealed: “She likes a good Yorkshire pudding.”