Guido Maria Kretschmer: “Life shouldn’t be about belly rolls”

Everyone is beautiful as they are, there is no such thing as too fat, thin, big or small, we wear what we feel comfortable in. Like a mantra, we preached these phrases to each other and ourselves, evolved from body positivity to neutrality and really tried to like every dent in our body. Or at least make peace with her. Hand on heart: In reality, it’s not that easy. Actually, that’s quite normal. For years we have learned to want to change and even optimize ourselves and our bodies. It takes time to get rid of these behavior patterns.

What helps – as is so often the case in life – is talking to people. People who have already lived through these experiences. Who feel good about themselves. And who always see the good in others. Guido Maria Kretschmer has already measured, examined and clothed quite a few bodies in his career. What he never did: judge. Instead, the designer manages time and again to help women become more self-confident – without smearing honey around their mouths, but with pure honesty. How does he do that? And what has to change in our society so that we all treat ourselves and our bodies more appreciatively? In the course of Guido and Shaving Brand Intuition’s campaign against shame, he talked to us about it exactly – and however he does that, we were already better after the interview than before. So go ahead, read, feel good, these tips are balm for the self-care soul.

Guido Maria Kretschmer, how does self-love work?

Personally, I think legs are beautiful because they carry us through life, whether short or long, trained or not.

You radiate to be completely at peace with yourself. Do you feel comfortable in your body?

Yes i feel good I am fine with myself and actually like myself very much. And learned early on to accept myself for who I am. With all the trimmings, including the supposed flaws. That all of this is mine, belongs to me. Of course there are also days when you are not so satisfied, but that is completely normal. It is important that you then quickly find your way back to yourself and appreciate everything that is good about yourself.

In our society there is this opposite trend: Be who you are – but don’t bother anyone! Everyone can be who they are, but unshaven legs are still considered a “statement” instead of simply being normal. How do we get out of there?

For some, shaving is part of feeling good, for others it is not. Every woman should decide for herself how she feels comfortable in her own skin. But many are also ashamed that they shave. As if the body hair wasn’t completely natural. And that has to be changed. Exactly for this reason I now use intuition to make myself strong against shame. It is a real affair of the heart for us that women feel good in their skin and if I can only contribute a little bit to this feeling of well-being and self-confidence with my words and my razor limited edition, so to speak, can set a memory during the beauty routine, then I am very pleased.

“X has such beautiful long eyelashes, Y much longer legs and Z somehow looks much more stylish than me”…. Women in particular tend to constantly compare themselves to others. In your programs, on the other hand, you treat very different types of women in a very appreciative way, and you don’t put any one over the other.

We live in a time in which it is becoming more and more difficult to live with supposed flaws and to do so freely and openly. This is not just about women, it affects men equally. Everyone wants the best body, toned legs, etc. because they see it every day on social media. I also look at it and often wonder whether this picture is actually the reality that we should all orientate ourselves by. This “world” seduces people into constantly comparing themselves and striving for something that may not be as perfect in real life as it appears on the screen. Personally, I think legs are beautiful because they carry us through life, whether short or long, specially trained or not.

In principle, women could save the whole world, but if they are reduced to having long legs, then that is not feasible in the long term.

How can we learn a slice of this?

I’m a big fan of touching and applying lotion. Then you have everything in your hand once a day and you know: this is my body, this is mine now. This is how you develop a completely different contact with your body. If there is one tip from me, it would be that we should simply accept what is supposedly imperfect, in ourselves and also in others. I think you should always be your own biggest fan.

We have the feeling that women are even more ashamed than men, are you? Why do you think that is so?

It starts very early that women are reduced to such externals. They have much, much more to do with it than men. And that’s where women’s energy is so great. In principle, they could save the whole world, but if they are reduced to having to have long legs, then that is not feasible in the long term.

What do you answer when someone with stretch marks, cellulite or wide thighs comes to you and says: “I can’t wear this! I don’t dare! I prefer to hide in long, loose clothes”?

If she: he likes to wear the baggy clothes and is comfortable in them, I would say that it is perfectly fine to do that too. But if it’s just about covering up supposed flaws, just hiding everything so that nobody can see it, then that’s a shame. Dents, streaks and even orange peel are all things that are absolutely natural. And I think you should accept that and avoid the people who reduce you to it as quickly as possible. I’ve never thought in my life: “Look at those with the dents”. I often think then, oh look what a great girl. And her legs belong to this girl, why shouldn’t she present herself in shorts? Every woman has the right to dress how she likes and feels comfortable.

Life shouldn’t be about a strong thigh or a belly roll.

What do you think of the body positivity movement over the past few years? Everywhere I am being called to love my little belly rolls and wrinkles. Can’t I find anything stupid about my body?

For me it is a meaningful and valuable development because certain images are broken open and many more people notice that they don’t have to hide – and it is good to love yourself and your body. Body positivity also means seeing the body as a whole. And yes, it is important to change something about the things that you do not like, if you want to do that yourself. But life shouldn’t be about a strong thigh or a belly roll.

For a long time you saw just one ideal of beauty everywhere, on the catwalks, in the media: long legs, big eyes and please be as thin as possible! Do you have the feeling that things are slowly changing there too?

There is sure to be a change, because currently it is the Instagrammers, bloggers and Youtubers who are leading the way. For example, fashion is no longer so much about designers: inside or a model – it is now simply about those who style it. I do think that many designers have also understood that the market is no longer just designed for the typical ‘model’. And I also hope that many will get to the point where women are beautiful in their diversity. Our job as designers: It is after all to support women in their well-being. That has always been my top priority. And for me it is the greatest gift when you can see that you succeed.

Thank you very much for the interview!

Guido