Did you guys catch the interview with Chip and Shannon Wilson on Bloomberg? I wasn’t actually going to write about it when it first came up because, well for starters I’m kind of tired of their PR blunders (Who Is Jon Galt? , Yoga Barbie , the Poser shoppers, the latest shoppers with heroin needles on it promoting moderation…making puns at the expense of violence against women’s charities) there is just so much to be offended by when it comes to Lululemon that I just get tired of it the way one gets weary of a toddler constantly seeking attention. But…alas, Chip created a youtube video for his employees as an apology for stating that a lot of the issues with quality are actually issues of women that shouldn’t be wearing yoga pants wearing yoga pants. Insinuating that friction from lack of thigh gap is what is causing their company levelling quality issues. So he apologized to his employees for being burdened with the fallout of his comments. Whatever. Keep believing that delusion. Anyways, an edited version of this video was posted on the Lululemon Facebook page and shared with customers. Which is just silly because its an apology to employees and shared completely out of context.
I’m actually not mad by what Chip had said in the interview. Not because I don’t think he’s a complete asshat, but because I don’t care what a megalomaniacal billionaire thinks the problem is, or if he thinks my thighs are the wrong cut for his pants. They can acknowledge and fix the quality issues..or not and that will either hinder them or not. He’s so completely out of touch with reality and just simply exists in a vacuum of his own billionaire awesomeness that he failed to notice the fury Abercrombie customers where in when its CEO said Abercrombie was just for awesome skinny people (or something along those lines). Guys, why do we care what Chip thinks about our thighs? I don’t feel I misunderstood what he was trying to say…I think he said something terribly stupid and oafish and I just don’t care because he is a caricature to me. Chip, you are just a billionaire that is surrounded by yes men. Nobody that works for you is going to tell you the truth. He’s not my messiah and I don’t look to Chip Wilson for validation of my life’s values. I don’t need him to approve of my thighs, or accept me as a customer. I’ll spend my money there (as a chunky thighed woman) until I get bored with the product and/or with the culture.
“There’s always been pilling. The thing is that women will wear seatbelts that don’t work [with the pants] or they’ll wear a purse that doesn’t work. Or quite frankly some women’s bodies just actually don’t work for it”
“So, more likely that they’ll be see-through on some women than others?” Bloomberg’s Trish Regan asked.
“Even our small size would fit an extra large. It’s really about the rubbing through the thighs, how much pressure is there over a period of time and how much they use it.” Wilson responded.
“So not every woman can wear Lululemon yoga pants…” Regan asked.
“I think they can,” Wilson said. “It depends on how you use it”
What did you guys feel about the interview itself, and the apology? Or his red pants?
