Cult brand’s skin-tight gym outfit roasted over pregnancy bump

The controversial fast fashion retailer has been slammed for its images of a pregnant woman wearing gym tights with a “snatched” waist.

One of the world’s biggest fast fashion brands has been slammed over images of a pregnant woman wearing gym tights.

The image showed a woman in full length blue tights and a long sleeve workout top, however she had a “snatched” waist, low and tight baby bump and a protruding backside.

A screenshot of the ensemble was shared to X, formerly known as Twitter, by Natalie who uploaded it with the caption: “I love this. This is exactly how a pregnant woman looks”.

The original image on the website features arrows claiming the compression tights lift the bump and belly.

Social media users were stunned by the images, with some calling out the brand for its representation of a pregnant woman’s body.

An advertisement of Shein maternity gym gear has gone viral. Picture: Shein

“Dream body. need to get pregnant then get liposuction and a BBL,” one social media user joked.

Another said: “Do they know that the uterus expanding pushes all the other organs up and out of the way? Her torso would not be ‘snatched’ like this. Those organs have to go somewhere.”

One X user admitted the image made them laugh harder than expected, while another said the woman’s backside looked like it was holding its own baby because her uterus was full and she was expecting twins.

“I literally looked like a f*****g potato my entire pregnancy. Shein what,” another demanded.

“Unlocking insecurities and I’m not even pregnant,” another commented on the photo.

People have slammed the image. Picture: Shein

One joked: “When you have a baby bump AND abs.”

“I can see someone getting this, thinking she’ll look like this only to be disappointed,” another said.

Another demanded to know: “Why the arse and belly at the same level?”

The outfit, listed on the Shein website as the High Stretch Seamless Maternity 2pc Set, retails for $24.95 and is available in dusty blue, and black. It claims to be “suitable for every stage of pregnancy.”

News.com.au has contacted Shein for further comment.

It’s not the first time Shein has been slammed online for sharing unrealistic images of a woman’s pregnant body, with “badly photoshopped” pictures being shared to a popular Facebook page last month, depicting a model posing at the beach in a maternity swimwear set.

“SHEIN, you’ve done it again. $66 billion company can’t hire someone with better photoshop skills?!” one woman fumed at the time.

The bizarre images show thin models with tiny waists whose bellies appear digitally altered to make them appear pregnant.

A previous example of a pregnant woman people claimed was photoshopped. Picture: Shein

Australian model Robyn Lawley slammed the photos and told Daily Mail Australia the images presented a “layered and dangerous minefield of emotions” and there should be legislation so customers are aware when advertisements or what they see on social media has been altered in any way.

“When I look at these pictures I see some tech guy’s idea of pregnant perfection. Too much perfection. The baby bumps are perfectly rounded like a watermelon, no low riding babies here. The skin is so perfectly flawless, nothing like what I experienced,” she said.

“I can’t even concentrate on the fashion they are trying to entice me to buy, because I’m so put off by this and yet I still I can’t help but compare what my body looked like pregnant in comparison to this idealised version, even though I know logically ‘she’ doesn’t even exist!”

In 2017, France passed a law doing exactly what Lawley is pushing for – requiring any commercial photos that have been retouched to make a model’s body appear thinner or thicker to be labelled “retouched photograph” to indicate such to viewers.