Hunter McGrady Shares Journey From Bullied Teen to Superstar at QVC Event
Inclusively You digital summit featured powerful discussions with industry leading body positive activists, including a “Size Is Not A Trend” roundtable
October 21, 2020: As a high school student, Hunter McGrady was relentlessly bullied about her size and weight. But instead of letting the haters crush her, Hunter turned the negativity into a passion that has made her a superstar model, fashion entrepreneur, and pioneer in the size inclusivity and body positivity movement.
“It took me a lot of selflove and internal growth to understand that the bullies’ words have no bearing on who I am as a person,” said Hunter, founder of the All Worthy Hunter McGrady fashion line at QVC and Sports Illustrated’s first plus-size swimsuit model. “And – news flash – sometimes those people don’t stop bullying after high school. It’s up to us to take it with a grain of salt. Confidence is not a destination, it’s a journey. You are constantly chipping away at it.”
Hunter shared an intimate look at her journey at “Inclusively You”, a digital summit hosted by QVC and powered by Create & Cultivate, a creative platform for women entrepreneurs. The summit brought together style influencers and body positivity role models to celebrate fashion, beauty, and confidence for women of every size and shape.
The three-hour event, held on Tuesday, Sept. 29, featured roundtable discussions, interviews, an “Above the Keyboard” fashion show and discussion, and more. The summit builds upon QVC’s 30-plus-year dedication to providing inclusive sizing for women of all shapes and sizes. QVC is proud to offer apparel and accessories in a broad range of sizes fit for petites, misses, plus and tall at the same price. QVC also proudly offers all on-air apparel in all sizes including Hunter’s apparel brand: All Worthy.
Hunter’s wide-ranging interview opened the event. “When I first started modeling, I didn’t see plus-size models,” she said. “I always thought, ‘Oh gosh, am I still kind of the outcast?’”
But over time, Hunter came to see the niche she helped created as a badge of honor. “As I was going through my career, I had so many women reach out to me and say, ‘I’m really proud of that’ and ‘I really own that and love that,’” Hunter said.
In the “Size Is Not A Trend” roundtable, several fashion influencers spoke candidly about the struggles that many women face in finding clothing that fits.
“There really isn’t a tall style experience” said Alicia Jay, founder of TallSWAG. “I cannot go to a mall and pick up an outfit head-to-toe that fits me. I wear a 37-inch to 40-inch inseam. I am not going to find those pants out there.”
Petite fashion influencer Chelsea Olivia, on the other hand, shared that, while she can find clothes in her size, the shopping experience is not always appealing. “I was shopping in the kids’ section because there were not options for me in the department stores unless I was getting them hemmed and tailored,” she said.
Jay called on the fashion industry to start designing clothing for the full ranges of sizes and offering them together at retail. “There’s so many descriptors, there’s so many boxes, that are put around fashion,” Jay said. “We are all people. We are all unique. We all like to express ourselves in different ways.”
Sarah Nicole Landry, founder of The Birds Papaya, added that size inclusivity needs to extend to the fashion media as well. “We need magazines to look different all the time,” Landry said. “Not just one run of it. Not just one month. We need it to be a continuous thing.”
Thankfully, the fashion industry is moving towards size-inclusivity, celebrity stylist Micaela Erlanger shared in her fireside chat with Katrina Szish, host of QVC’s The Szish List. In Micaela’s view, this is happening because the current model is not “sustainable” or “realistic”.
“It’s about time you speak to the consumer in a very real way, and provide options for all,” said Micaela, who recently launched StyleList by Micaela at QVC, a size-inclusive fashion brand. “Everyone deserves to look and feel beautiful, and no one should be limited in that way.”
Kim Gravel, founder of Belle by Kim Gravel and Bell Beauty at QVC, encouraged women to come together and demand size-inclusive clothing. She spoke as part of the “Fit Class” roundtable.
“You can’t change anything without unity.” Kim said. “When all of us women lock arms together, there’s nothing we can’t change and nothing we can’t accomplish.”
To learn more about “QVC Presents: Inclusively You, Powered by Create & Cultivate,” read our press release.
