A cult favourite Australian swimwear brand adored by celebrities including Kourtney Kardashian, Hailey Bieber and Tammy Hembrow has landed itself in hot water over a Black Friday campaign that critics say glamorises sunburn.
Perth-based label Loleia Swimwear rolled out the ad across Facebook and Instagram this week, featuring a topless model lying face down with what appears to be red sunburn covering her back. The brand name and sale messaging appear pale beneath the “burn,” as if they have been written out in sunscreen prior to heading out into the sun.
While the campaign may have been intended as playful, Cancer Council Western Australia said there is nothing funny or fashionable about the matter.
‘We don’t want people aspiring to that look’
Cancer Council WA chief executive Sally Blane told the Sydney Morning Herald that the imagery was deeply concerning, particularly as its likely audience includes teenagers and young adults.
“It’s really concerning to see images like that, particularly targeting young people who might see that image and not realise that it might be a generated image,” she said. “We don’t want people to aspire to that kind of look. Tanning causes damage to your skin, and it is skin cells in trauma.”
Blane said the timing was especially problematic as the organisation launches a targeted campaign aimed at young Western Australians working outdoors ahead of summer.
“We’re really trying to change the culture that Australia has around the fact that tanning is desirable because we know that it just leads to skin cancer.”
Every year, more than 18,000 Australians are diagnosed with invasive melanoma, and a further 28,000 are diagnosed with in situ disease, according to Monash University.
In 2022 alone, 1,712 West Australians were diagnosed with melanoma, and 148 died. Melanoma remains one of the most common cancers in Australians aged 15 to 29.
“Portraying and promoting images like that in the media is really not on … we’re really disappointed to see that kind of depiction.”
This isn’t the first time the beauty and swimwear space has been criticised for irresponsible messaging.
Last year, tanning label The Fox Tan was found to have breached Australia’s advertising code after a TikTok showed a woman refusing to come out of the sun because “your tan just started to look good.”
The Ad Standards panel ruled the clip dangerous, particularly for young audiences.
Despite the backlash, Loleia Swimwear remains one of the country’s most recognisable indie swim labels. Founded in 2020 by Perth designer Leia Perini, the brand exploded on social media with its retro-inspired 80s and 90s prints, bright colours and celebrity placement, most notably when Kourtney Kardashian’s platform Poosh posted her wearing one of the designs.
The brand’s website describes it as an ode to “a time where fashion was loud, the prints were bold, and the energy was unmatched.” Bikini sets now sell for up to $178, and collections frequently sell out.
Loleia Swimwear did not respond to a request for comment.
