Adidas launches women’s swimwear… but the model wearing the ‘Pride 2023’ suit appears to be a man
- Adidas criticized for not using female model to show swimsuits
- The model who appeared to be a man unveiled his new “Pride” line
- The collection includes swimsuits, t-shirts, shorts and singlets
Adidas has courted controversy after launching a new range of women’s swimwear using what appears to be a man as a model.
The swimwear range is part of the brand’s ‘Pride 2023’ collection, and is on sale on the website in the women’s section. However, the model showing off the swimsuit has a hairy chest and a bulge in the crotch area.
It is unclear whether the model identifies as male or trans.
The swimsuit was created by South African designer Rich Mnisi and released to honor Pride Month. Adidas said the swimsuit “was a celebration of self-expression, imagination and the unwavering belief that love unites”.
Adidas has been criticized for using what appears to be a male model to show off new swimwear as part of its ‘Pride 2023’ collection (pictured)
The swimsuits are displayed by a model with an obvious crutch bulge and chest hair sticking out from the top
However, not everyone liked the choice of model for swimsuits.
Oli London, a member of a boy band well known for multiple ethnic plastic surgery procedures, shared screenshots of the Adidas website on Twitter with the caption: “The new Adidas women’s swimwear range modeled by … men”.
“There doesn’t seem to be a single brand that isn’t woke up anymore,” he said.
The post had been seen by more than five million Twitter users, many also took aim at the brand.
The hashtag “BoycottAdidas” became a trend and many top athletes spoke out against the company.
“Women’s swimwear is not accessorized with a bulge,” American swimming star turned women’s rights activist Riley Gaines tweeted.
“I don’t understand why companies are doing this to themselves on purpose. They could have at least said the suit was “unisex”, but they didn’t because it’s about erasing women.
‘Adidas is launching a new range of women’s swimwear, the ‘Pride Collection’ – using MALES to model sports bras and FEMALE swimwear, Oh f**k off. Honestly,” another person said.
Twitter was not happy with the use of what appeared to be a male model for the Adidas pride swimwear range
“Just look at this female bulge…Adidas is maddeningly using biological male models to advertise women’s swimwear and bras,” another wrote.
“Nothing sells a swimsuit like a hairy chest and a bulge in the crotch,” posted a third.
Adidas’ Pride line also includes “Love Wins” t-shirts, shorts and sportswear which are also worn by what appear to be male models.
Many also joked that Adidas and Nike were battling over who could “go broke” first after the competitors “woke up more and more”.
In April, Nike used trans social media star Dylan Mulvaney to promote its sportswear.
The transgender actress posted “Alert the media – I’m entering my workout era” alongside photos showing off the Nike lineup.
Following his choice of Mulvaney as the brand ambassador to show off the womenswear, a ‘Burn Bra Challenge’ began on TikTok and many criticized Nike’s choice on social media.
Adidas’ Pride line also includes “Love Wins” t-shirts, shorts and sportswear which are also worn by what appear to be male models.
