The photos show women dressed in well-fitted suits and clearly in a position of power. Photo / Twitter
The photos show women dressed in well-fitted suits and clearly in a position of power. Photo / Twitter
A women's suit company has launched a racy new ad campaign featuring women in sleek, tailored suits alongside men in, well, nothing.
Dutch suit label Suistudio has taken their slogan "Not Dressing Men" to a whole new level by including buff, butt-naked men in the promo shots for their latest fashion line.
The campaign has split public opinion, with some praising the company and others claiming it is objectification. Photo / Twitter
The photos show women dressed in well-fitted suits and clearly in a position of power, while the naked men are featured in the background and are almost used as a type of prop.
One of the pictures shows a woman sitting on a lounge dressed in a beige suit while she rests her feet on the naked man stretched out beneath her.
One of the images that sparked outrage. Photo / Twitter
Another features a woman in a sleek black suit, lounging on a couch with her hand on a man's bare butt.
The photos are all set in what looks like a luxury high-rise apartment, with the woman always front and centre and the man in the background or half out of the frame with his face concealed.
The studio is using the campaign as a statement to highlight the sexist way women are commonly portrayed in advertisements, particularly when selling products aimed at men.
Vice president of Suistudio USA Kristina Barricelli said the pictures bring focus to the normalised way women are often sexualised and used as objects in advertisements - the men aren't portrayed in any way that women haven't been before.
"There is nothing wrong with sex, the naked human body, and the inclusion of that in a campaign. Sex is a big part of fashion," she told online new site Upworthy.
"The problem is that in recent history, we haven't seen a naked man objectified in the background. How strange! Why not?"
The ad campaign has gained a lot of attention online and there has been a backlash from people calling the ad out for objectification and claiming it is a step backwards in the fight for gender equality.
"I'm sure if the roles were reversed and this was published there would be a backlash from females saying that they are being sexualised, objectified, abused and so on. But somehow it is OK to do the same things to males. Hypocrites," one Instagram user commented.
"Sexism is sexism, no matter if a woman dominates a man or vice versa."
"And revenge is not a way to overcome injustice," another user said.
While some are calling out the ad for being sexist others are saying it is empowering and praising the company for shedding light on gender inequality.
One user commented: "This ad campaign is genius. How many times have we seen a woman's legs only or her bottom as a prop in men's ad campaigns? All is fair in love and fashion."
"Excellent cultural commentary! Love the irony," another said.
