The popular activewear brand has been slammed for its lack of body diversity. Photo / Facebook
The popular activewear brand has been slammed for its lack of body diversity. Photo / Facebook
A trendy activewear brand is facing backlash after an image taken during a women's photo-shoot leaked online.
The behind-the-scenes image surfaced online Thursday from a Gymshark shoot in London, where several models could be seen posing in combinations of colourful sets.
One glaring detail in the photo sparked uproar among hundreds of women who felt joint frustration at what appeared to be a massive oversight from the brand.
Of the seven models pictured, not one appeared any bigger than a standard Australian size 8.
It appeared the brand had made small steps towards inclusivity – with women of colour and a woman in a wheelchair – but fell short when it came to body size diversity.
"Thoughts on Gymshark's diversity? I don't see one model who would be bigger than a size eight. This is their latest shoot in London, it's so disappointing," a post to Facebook with the photo read.
Hundreds of women expressed a shared reaction to the photo, many upset the brand had opted against including a broader range of body types.
Gymshark has been criticised over a lack of body size diversity. Photo / Facebook
"We need to see how it works on larger bodies. I'm not buying from a company that doesn't represent larger people properly," one critic wrote in a comment.
"I shouldn't have to go searching and scrolling for representation," another said.
"They've got a token POC (person of colour) and one woman in a wheelchair, and five women that look exactly the same and call it diversity," a third wrote.
"loving all the other representation but disappointed in the lack of a size range. they all look like they're relatively the same size, it would be nice to see a bit of variation," someone else said.
A woman who identified herself as a fat person who exercised regularly detailed her frustration at barely ever getting a preview of what gym clothes would look like on her.
"As a fat person who also goes to the gym very regularly (for strength, not weight loss) and buys stuff from these kinds of brands, I would love to know what their stuff looks like on fat bodies. These products don't come cheap and it's really disappointing when you get your package and it looks like s*** on a fat body," she wrote in a comment.
Some argued in defence of the brand, saying it often worked with bigger influencers, and pointed to its Instagram page where the referenced women were displayed.
"Gymshark has ambassadors and athletes. Their range of ambassadors is incredibly diverse and it only takes a quick scroll or a smidge of research to see that. Their athletes are less diverse but I don't know if that is of Gymshark's doing or a glimpse into the athletic world," one wrote.
While the brand's social media has bigger diversity than was seen in the London photo-shoot, many argued the use of plus size creators was too few and far between.
"There is one singular plus sized person [on its Instagram] who isn't built like an hour glass, and a bunch of token 'plus sized' people who are just top and back heavy," one said.
"If plus size models are good enough for the social media, they should be good enough for their campaigns and advertising," another said.
A third argued that regardless of model size, the brand's sizing was not inclusive in the slightest.
"Going up to XXL isn't inclusive and if Gymshark is the most diverse brand of activewear you know of then y'all must have your head deep in the sand," they said.
Outside of sizing-related criticism, many were thrilled the brand had included a model in a wheelchair.
"As someone that's in a wheelchair, this is actually the first time I've ever seen a wheelchair used in gym clothing advertisement," one wrote.
Gymshark has been contacted by news.com.au for comment.
