Mj joined the students while they enjoyed the beauty portion of the event, taking selfies and listening to their stories. "The conversation we had was beautiful, and I couldn't help but be happy to see a smile on their face," she said. Jessica [pictured above] was one of those students, who posed for a "back-to-school" portrait and shared her own takeaway with POPSUGAR from the day: "Anything is possible as long as you work hard and believe in yourself."
H&M is one of the fashion companies striving toward inclusivity, and this gathering was proof. But both Mj and Elle are not afraid to get real about the fact that there's a long way to go beyond one event. "Visually, there's still a need to see a lot of different types of bodies and color variations across ethnicities and more Black faces in the creative director and executive spaces that inform so much of what we see or don't see. My hope is that fashion can continue to blend gender norms and showcase various aesthetics for all," Elle said.
Meanwhile, Mj painted a picture of the safe space H&M created that day quite well — one that was open to understanding where inclusivity could flourish. "With an event like this, youth are encouraged to go back to school in style and feel comfortable seeing the people they will share space with every day." Here's to more of that!
![Mj joined the students while they enjoyed the beauty portion of the event, taking selfies and listening to their stories. "The conversation we had was beautiful, and I couldn't help but be happy to see a smile on their face," she said. Jessica [pictured above] was one of those students, who posed for a "back-to-school" portrait and shared her own takeaway with POPSUGAR from the day: "Anything is possible as long as you work hard and believe in yourself."
H&M is one of the fashion companies striving toward inclusivity, and this gathering was proof. But both Mj and Elle are not afraid to get real about the fact that there's a long way to go beyond one event. "Visually, there's still a need to see a lot of different types of bodies and color variations across ethnicities and more Black faces in the creative director and executive spaces that inform so much of what we see or don't see. My hope is that fashion can continue to blend gender norms and showcase various aesthetics for all," Elle said.
Meanwhile, Mj painted a picture of the safe space H&M created that day quite well — one that was open to understanding where inclusivity could flourish. "With an event like this, youth are encouraged to go back to school in style and feel comfortable seeing the people they will share space with every day." Here's to more of that!](https://media1.popsugar-assets.com/files/thumbor/eYSyX0b2QbedmoNUzsU_Cd8LHE8/fit-in/1024x1024/filters:format_auto-!!-:strip_icc-!!-/2021/08/27/779/n/1922564/e5dfdcbd13b76f12_one/i/Mj-joined-students-while-they-enjoyed-beauty-portion.jpg "Mj joined the students while they enjoyed the beauty portion of the event, taking selfies and listening to their stories. \"The conversation we had was beautiful, and I couldn't help but be happy to see a smile on their face,\" she said. Jessica [pictured above] was one of those students, who posed for a \"back-to-school\" portrait and shared her own takeaway with POPSUGAR from the day: \"Anything is possible as long as you work hard and believe in yourself.\"
H&M is one of the fashion companies striving toward inclusivity, and this gathering was proof. But both Mj and Elle are not afraid to get real about the fact that there's a long way to go beyond one event. \"Visually, there's still a need to see a lot of different types of bodies and color variations across ethnicities and more Black faces in the creative director and executive spaces that inform so much of what we see or don't see. My hope is that fashion can continue to blend gender norms and showcase various aesthetics for all,\" Elle said.
Meanwhile, Mj painted a picture of the safe space H&M created that day quite well — one that was open to understanding where inclusivity could flourish. \"With an event like this, youth are encouraged to go back to school in style and feel comfortable seeing the people they will share space with every day.\" Here's to more of that!")
