H&M Partners with Tess Holliday to Expand Size-Inclusive Offerings: This Can 'Literally Transform Lives'

H&M now carries women's clothing up to size 4XL and men's up to size 3XL

Photo: H&M

Tess Holliday knows firsthand how frustrating it can be as a plus-size shopper.

The model and activist has long championed body-positivity and body diversity when it comes to fashion, and now she's getting an official seat at the table with H&M.

Today H&M announced that it is expanding the size range of its clothes to include up to 4XL in women's and 3XL in men's, and Holliday has been named the brand's size and inclusivity consultant.

H&M

After working with the brand in the past, Holliday felt compelled to speak up about what it could do better in terms of inclusivity. She tells PEOPLE that after being approached to assist H&M with a project in 2021 — where the clothes didn't accommodate her size — her team encouraged her to sit the brand down for a meeting.

"I really went into that meeting and I just spoke from my heart," Holliday, 37, says. "[Plus-size shoppers] have a lot of emotion tied to our clothing, and our access to really cute, trendy pieces is limited. After that meeting, I walked away and I thought, 'Gosh, I really hope that I get to work with them in some capacity so that this doesn't happen to someone else.'"

One of the people Holliday sat down with that day was Donna Dozier Gordon, H&M's head of inclusion and diversity for region Americas. She tells PEOPLE that though the brand has been making inclusive shopping a priority for years, Holliday's appointment as a consultant for the brand should show consumers how serious H&M is.

H&M

"We've had some great discussions about how we could make the brand accessible for more customers and how Tess's voice would be valuable to us in being able to do that," Dozier Gordon tells PEOPLE. "We've been on our inclusive size journey for a while, but I think with the insights that Tess is providing, we will really be able to do some great things in terms of the accessibility of this customer to fashion."

With Holliday at the helm of this initiative, H&M will be able to address aspects of inclusivity that are often left out. As someone who lives a plus-size life, Holliday knows exactly what direction to point the brand in. That means featuring all body types and skin colors in each ad campaign. That means ensuring the plus-size clothes are just as cute as the straight-size clothes and are made to the right proportions. That means making plus-shoppers feel like they're not an afterthought.

H&M

"It really is about making sure that you have direct feedback and direct perspectives from the folks that are most impacted by the decisions that you're making," Dozier Gordon tells PEOPLE of what it takes to actually make a difference as a major brand. "If you have a couple of people at an office who don't really have a point of reference, how can you make the offer truly appealing?"

Another piece of the brand's expansion is not only including plus-size models in ad campaigns but actually integrating them in so they don't feel othered. Holliday says there were plenty of photo shoots she'd been in during her career where she was basically "stapled" into her clothes, because "no one cared" about her experience.

"The word that we've used throughout our partnership is authenticity," she says. "It's really easy to talk about this because it's genuine and authentic and that is something that really means a lot to me because I'm putting my name on this."

H&M

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H&M's continued effort to be more inclusive — which Dozier Gordon says started in 2018 and has been a slow and careful process to ensure everything is done right — means an expanded size range online, but Holliday is hopeful that the sizes will also end up in stores at some point. She also hopes the brand continues expanding the size range, calling a range up to 5XL the dream.

Dozier Gordon tells PEOPLE that the further expansion of sizes and more inclusion in stores are both things the brand is continuing to work on, as this is an ongoing effort. Holliday adds that she's hopeful and excited about where the brand is going, because thus far, she "hasn't been met with resistance" when she's brought up her issues with what the brand could do better.

"I've been very vocal about a lot of changes," she says. "They've been open. They're willing to prioritize their plus-size consumers, and this is just the beginning of a continued conversation that can literally transform lives."