Writing hit songs for other artists, Bebe Rexha came out as a solo artist back in 2014 with her debut single “I Can’t Stop Drinking About You.”
And while the 29-year-old superstar singer is rolling in success, she admits she still have trouble navigating her place in the fashion industry.
Rexha, who is slated to go on tour with The Jonas Brothers, explains the challenge of loving oneself in an industry that is not able to dress her body.
“I kind of felt that pressure from the industry for a while because things are usually made in sample sizes,” Rexha shares. “But there’s a difference between a sample size and a size that doesn’t even fit your arm. Like a sample size that my forearms can’t even fit in.”
Rexha shares that even when she was “super, super, super thin,” she was still doing fittings where “almost nothing” fit.
And while she attempted to accept it as a fact in the fashion industry, Rexha finally was at her wits end during the lead-up to the 2019 Grammys.
The singer took her social media to address the rejection that she went through from designers who refused to dress her for one of her most important red carpet appearances to date.
“If a size 6-8 is too big then I don’t know what to tell you,” she stated in the video, captioned with the hashtag #LOVEYOURBODY. “I don’t want to wear your f***ing dresses.”
Rexha shares that the clip was posted in flight of frustration after she had just received a another call from a designer unwilling to dress her.
“I was kind of scared when I did it,” she shares, “but the response was amazing. I mean, people were calling me up being like I’ll help you out, different designers. The support was incredible.”
And while the singer had jaws drop after she graced the red carpet in a custom Monsoori gown, she shares that she still, on occasion, struggles with her body image.
“Some days you wake up and you don’t feel so good…and that’s a totally normal feeling,” she says. “I know that it’s inevitable to feel that way. But if you’re feeling insecure then I would just say wear something that makes you feel better.”
Rexha currently is working with one her favorite brands bebe on a campaign that empowers women and their bodies in the midst of society’s impossible standards. The Fall 2019 campaign is called “BEBE LOVES BEBE,” and was created to praise everyone to love and accept themselves — all of which was inspired by Rexha’s unveiling of the fashion community’s injustice prior to the Grammys.
“It’s incredible to be part of this bebe campaign, it’s not only about me loving the brand, but more importantly about me loving myself.” Rexha says. “I hope to inspire and empower women all over the world with this message of self-love, I believe it is super important.”
The campaign launches with Vogue’s September issue with Rexha hoping it will teach men and women how there are zero rules when it comes to feeling yourself.
“Forget all the stereotypes and all these rules of what people think that women should look like to wear certain things. You might as well just throw that out the window and wear what makes you feel good. Cause if you feel good in something, it doesn’t matter,” Rexha shared. “I feel like there’s no rules, like whatsoever. Just wear what makes you feel good.”