As a member of the world’s biggest ever girl band, Melanie Brown is used to being photographed and scrutinised. Luckily it hasn’t stifled her self-image or sense of identity. “You can analyse it ten ways to Sunday, if that’s a saying, but I’m a Northern girl. I’m real and I’m honest. I have curly, afro hair, I have boobs, I have a butt,” the straight-talking Spice Girl tells HELLO! “I’m rearing three girls and I want to be able to represent myself honestly and confidently.”
Melanie's championing of a positive body image and self-acceptance has clearly rubbed off on daughters Phoenix, 24, Angel, 16, and 12-year-old Madison. "Growing up around a big personality, you learn watching how she conducts herself," says model and DJ Phoenix. "She's always told me: 'Never be afraid to ask questions, chase your dreams and wear whatever you want.' She encourages us to be comfortable and do what makes us feel happy."
We are talking as Melanie, aka Scary Spice, teams up with Phoenix to launch her latest edition of fashion brand Pour Moi's Own Your Confidence campaign. Their choices, which feature lingerie, nightwear and sportswear, are the second time mother and daughter have collaborated with the clothing brand to celebrate bodies of different shapes and sizes. "Why do we have to pigeonhole ourselves to be perfect when nobody is?" asks Melanie, whose own confidence and happiness is due in no small part to her fiancé, Rory McPhee, the entrepreneur and hairdresser with whom she lives in Leeds.
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Mel B to marry at St Paul's Cathedral
Having first known each other as acquaintances more than two decades ago, the couple quietly got together after Melanie returned to the UK in 2019 for the Spice Girls reunion tour, and Rory proposed at Cliveden House hotel last year. Now Melanie is beginning to plan their wedding and hopes it will take place at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
Marrying there is a special privilege for anyone with an MBE, which the star was awarded in 2022 for her commitment to helping survivors of domestic abuse and raising awareness about the issue. "We've put in all the paperwork so we're waiting for them to get back with available dates," she says.
Victoria Beckham wedding dress
Has she thought about dresses yet? "Well, Victoria [Beckham] did say she’d be happy to make me a dress,” she says, referring to her former bandmate turned fashion designer. "But I don’t want just one; I want to have many different dresses for that day or a week of celebrations. I've been married twice before," she adds. "So third time lucky."
Photography: JAY MAWSON FOR POUR MOI
To shop the new campaign, visit pourmoi.co.uk/own-your-confidence.pourmoi.co.uk/own-your-confidence
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