Andrew Christian responds to criticism over its new ‘Thick’ campaign
Andrew Christian calls it “inclusive”. The internet has thoughts.
Underwear and swimwear brand Andrew Christian is one of the best-known labels amongst gay men worldwide. The designer has built an empire with his sex-positive and colorful designs. However, a new campaign has quickly prompted criticism online.
The label has traditionally tended to go for stereotypically pretty muscle hunks for models. It has, to its credit, branched out, using trans men in recent years.
It’s little surprise that it’s now launched a “Thick” range, to highlight different body shapes and to show some belated love to bigger boys.
Other labels, such as Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty, have been offering extra large sizes for some time and using plus-size models.
That said, when Andrew Christian announced its new range yesterday, it did not get the reaction it probably hoped for. Posting a photo to Twitter of six models naked or in jockstraps, a caption reads, “THICK is coming in a few days at http://AndrewChristian.com”
The hashtags #bodypositivitymovement #inclusivity were added at the end. We’ve cropped the image below as it contains nudity.
It’s great to see the label using some bigger guys. However, some questioned whether the imagery and models were still “inclusive” enough to warrant the #inclusivity label.
“Would be nice if there were some brown skin colours present lmao, especially considering the title of this comes from AAVE,” said one person on Twitter.
AAVE stands for “African American Vernacular English”. “Thick” is similar to “thicc”, which is often used to describe chunky or stocky Black guys. It’s also shorthand for “thickset”.
Here are a few more of the reactions.
*Buys Carter Wear* We support black-owned business over herrrrre.— Ishmael Mayhew (@ishcontent) May 1, 2023
Where the black boys???????— Stahr Milan
(@StahrTheBeauty) May 1, 2023
Um can we get some diversity in the color palette for this ad? Chocolate people are beautiful too!!!!— Nemean Onyx (@jayright99) May 1, 2023
Shoulda left this in the drafts mama— Marquis The Honey Bear (@MarquisHoney) May 1, 2023
Others questioned the range itself, noting it only goes up to 2XL.
Andrew Christian responds
Queerty reached out to Andrew Christian about the criticism. Spokesperson Jeff White sent the following statement:
“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.’ AndrewChristian.com has always had a huge range of all types of models.”
“We tried to introduce 2XL around ten years ago but the launch wasn’t successful. We made the decision to re-introduce 2XL in 2021 and the launch was so overwhelmingly successful that we decided to launch the THICK Collection which is designed and proportioned specifically for thicker body types.”
White says the ‘THICK’ 2XL size is for waistlines 40-42 inches (101-106cm), which is a couple of inches bigger than 2XL size for other Andrew Christian underwear.
Related: Five swimwear brands for bigger men and bears
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