«Would be nice if there were some brown skin colours present,» one tweet reads.
The underwear and swimwear brand Andrew Christian’s new ‘THICK’ campaign has garnered criticism online.
The new range was teased on Monday (1 May) with promotional images featuring six models appearing naked or in jockstraps.
The label has tended to feature stereotypically ‘fit’ models but has more recently featured better diversity, including trans men.
To that point, the new ‘THICK’ range sees plus-size models as part of its promotional material.
Though the post includes the hashtags “body positivity movement” and “inclusivity”, not everyone was happy with the offerings.
“Would be nice if there were some brown skin colours present”
Though some were supportive of the ‘THICK’ messaging, many questioned whether the campaign really warranted such labels.
“Would be nice if there were some brown skin colours present lmao, especially considering the title of this comes from AAVE,” one person shared on Twitter.
AAVE stands for “African American Vernacular English.” The campaign references the slang “thicc” which is used to describe a curvy person.
“Where the black boys???????” another user replied. “#inclusivity: being lighter than a paper bag,” another Twitter user wrote.
They continued: “And the light brown people are all nude…in an advertisement for underwear.”
In a statement to Queerty, a spokesperson for the underwear brand said that the ‘THICK’ collection was “designed and proportioned specifically for thicker body types.”
They also said that “Ben Reznik, one of the models in the THICK photo is African American. I am sure he loves hearing that he isn’t ‘black enough.’”
Attitude has also reached out to Andrew Christian for comment.
