I was stunned when I saw a sexual top in the children’s section of Zara – it was so disgusting

ZARA is selling “dirty” and “sexually suggestive” T-shirts to children, an angry mother claims.

Laura Wilson has criticised the Spanish fashion brand after spotting a £10.99 T-shirt that she felt was “dirty, grim and not suitable for a child”.

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At the top was a picture of a strawberry with the text “the perfect snack” on the front and “take a bite” on the back.

Laura, 32, says the term “snack” is often used to describe someone who “looks good” or to indicate attraction to another person.

She added that she felt uncomfortable seeing it on a children’s T-shirt, and has since criticised Zara.

The mother of two said beforehand that she is “normally not sensitive to these kinds of things” but that she found the design so “horrible” that she couldn’t ignore it.

The fast fashion T-shirt was spotted when Laura browsed the children’s department at Zara at Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent on August 10.

She was “immediately taken aback” by the design and claims the text on the garment is “inappropriate” for children due to its informal meaning.

The full-time content creator said she would never let her two children wear the garment and would worry if other parents did.

After sharing a video of the garment on TikTok, a debate quickly erupted among users over whether the top was actually “suggestive” or not.

While some parents agreed with Laura’s distaste, others claimed she was “thinking about it too much.”

“I would never put my children in something like that,” says Laura.

“I found it suggestive.

“I turned to my partner and asked him if I read it correctly, and he admitted it was horrible.

“I’ve been wondering if this is because I’m an overprotective parent, or if it’s just plain wrong?

“It’s very suggestive.

Zara controversies through the years

‘Concentration Camp’ Shirt

In 2014, Zara was widely criticized for selling a children’s T-shirt that “looked like a concentration camp uniform.” It was a blue and white striped shirt with a yellow star. The design sparked outrage, with many critics saying it “trivialized the horrors of the Holocaust.”

Copying Small Business Designs

Zara has been repeatedly accused of copying designs from smaller fashion brands on social media. In 2016, the brand was sued by several independent fashion designers who said their unique designs were illegally mass-produced and sold by Zara.

‘Gaza’ ad

In December 2023, Zara was forced to pull one of its advertising campaigns after it drew backlash from people who said it resembled scenes of death and destruction in Gaza. The promotional images showed rubble, torn plaster and mannequins wrapped in plastic – with one mannequin being compared to a corpse. It came just two months after the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsened.

“This T-shirt was for a six or seven year old and I don’t think that’s okay.

“When it says ‘the perfect snack,’ that’s very suggestive.

“You say, ‘that’s a snack,’ and that suggests quite an appeal.”

Laura posted a video of the T-shirt on TikTok to gauge other moms’ reactions.

“I put the video online to get other people’s opinions on it and it’s very clear that other people in these circumstances felt the same way as I did,” she says.

“There are people who say it’s ‘just strawberries and all they talk about is strawberries,’ but the text above: I would never let my daughter walk around with ‘take a bite’ on the back of her T-shirt.

“The majority completely agree that it is highly suggestive, mean and grim – and not suitable for a child.”

“If other parents bought this for their kids, I would be quite concerned. It just makes me feel very, very uncomfortable.”

Laura’s video has now been viewed over 22,000 times and has received over 140 comments.

A TikTok user commented: “You are absolutely not [overthinking it]. How that got through product development is a mystery to me.”

Another added: “What the f*ck? I’m shocked to my core. Zara, do better. This is disgusting.”

However, others were quick to claim they “don’t understand what’s wrong” with the design.

One of the people who disagreed noted, “It’s literally just a strawberry.”

Laura responded, “‘The perfect snack’ and ‘take a bite’ — is not just a strawberry. It’s extremely suggestive for a child to wear.”

Laura said this was her first time shopping at Zara and she will not be returning to the store after the incident.

Zara has been asked for comment.