Shy and retiring are not words you’d usually associate with the Spice Girls. As five of the world’s biggest pop icons, it’s easy to assume Scary, Posh, Ginger, Sporty and Baby have always been immune to body confidence issues, but as Mel B tells Grazia, it’s never quite that simple.
After a tumultuous decade, which saw her leave a toxic ten-year relationship, become a patron of Women's Aid, receive an MBE and tease a Spice Girls reunion, Melanie Brown, 48, has had her resilience tested in ways she couldn't have imagined. Now Scary Spice – along with her mum Andrea, 64, and her eldest daughter Phoenix, 24 – has decided to front a new campaign with Pour Moi that has female empowerment and confidence at its core.
At the start of 2023, Mel made a new years’ resolution to channel more energy into feeling good about herself – from what she wears to how she thinks. 'I've always been that Northern girl who speaks her mind and is very opinionated. But having gone through a ten-year abusive marriage, I was left broken,' Mel explains. 'I had to pick up all the pieces and try to get back to feeling like myself.'
While that included promises to be in bed by 9pm on weekdays, meditate more and not eat dinner too late in the evening, it also meant restoring her confidence. ‘It took a lot of therapy and lots of realisations, finding out what workouts and food make me feel good,' she says. 'It can take a while but I made the resolution in January and I stuck to it. I’m looking the best I’ve ever looked, inside and out.’
So when Mel was approached by Pour Moi to front its 'Own Your Confidence' lingerie and swimwear campaign, where a percentage of the proceeds are being donated to Women’s Aid, it didn’t take much convincing. 'It's what I’m all about – empowering women and helping survivors who have gone through something similar to what I’ve been through,' Mel explains. 'It was really important for me to do that shoot with my mum and my daughter so we could show three generations. We’re all still really close, despite what I’ve gone through, and it was fun to have a day of shooting together in sexy underwear and swimsuits.’
'We all found things that we loved and that suited us,' she adds. And that's not all – it turns out even global superstars can spend their lives wearing the wrong bra size. ‘Me, my mum and Phoenix didn’t realise we’d all been wearing the wrong size bra size for god knows how many years!' she laughs. 'When we had a fitting for our shoot it was like oh my god so I’m actually that size.'
As someone with three daughters whose been in the public eye for nearly thirty years, you'd be hard placed to find someone who understands the scrutiny women and their bodies face better than Mel. 'I think women are just hard on themselves in general,' she says. 'Social media and what we see on front covers can give such a false state of what women look like.' Mel was therefore adamant that there would be no re-touching on her Pour Moi shoot. 'What's the point?' she asks. 'Why would I want to be airbrushed? A lot of people still use filters on Instagram and I think that's a shame.'
While the Spice Girl admits to having had plastic surgery herself, she thinks what matters most is that women are able to make their own decisions about their bodies. 'It's nobody's business really, but if you're in the public eye then there's always added pressure. And women can be overly critical of other women too, which is a shame.' Despite the potential dichotomy between loving yourself as you are and channeling the best version of yourself, Mel is resolute in her belief that everyone deserves to feel confident in their own way.
'I feel it’s important for me to be a true representation of someone who loves what they look like regardless of size or shape,' Mel explains. She therefore hopes the campaign will empower women – especially survivors of abusive and coercive behaviour – to try to regain their confidence no matter what they look like. So what's her advice for anyone struggling to find their confidence? ‘As much as you’ve lost it, it’s really quite simple to get back if you’re realistic with yourself. You’ve got to be kind and realistic and not overload your body with too many things to do! And take two seconds after you’ve opened your eyes to be kind to yourself.’
Unsurprisingly, Scary Spice's admirable approach to confidence was instilled in her from a young age. 'I was born a working-class kid in Leeds in the 1970s. My dad was black – from Nevis – and my mum was a blue-eyed English rose blonde. I was brown. I had skin that was very different to other kids I went to school with. I had to learn very fast and quite young to be proud of who I am, to own my heritage, my fro and my body. That’s how I’ve always felt.'
Without this level of learned confidence, it's hard to imagine she'd have ever made it as a Spice Girl. Or become the face of girl power for millions of women around the world. Despite being part of a girl band that wasn't afraid of disrupting the status quo, in Mel's opinion, scrutiny was easier to ignore in those days. 'All five of us were just excited to get our music out there and tour the world spreading girl power. I didn't pay too much attention to what they were saying about my body,' she admits. 'When I did I'd go, "well that's a bit rude, I like my body and I'll wear what I want!".'
While Mel remains a lifelong advocate for girl power and is fully aware of the impact the Spice Girls still enjoy to this day, she hopes we reach a point where young women start to idolise different types of people in their lives – not just celebrities. 'I encourage my daughters to look outside the celebrity arena for role models – from Maya Angelou to their great grandmother (who lives to the age of 106) to inspirational women they meet through Women's Aid,' she explains. 'It's about what you do and what you stand for – not what you look like – that's important to me.'
Own Your Confidence with Pour Moi’s lingerie, swimwear and beachwear. To shop Mel's favourite confidence boosting pieces head to https://www.pourmoi.co.uk/own-your-confidence