Apparel brand Conte has drawn severe online criticism after a customer in Belarus discovered children's tights packaging featuring young models in makeup and adult styling.
Belarusian native Ksenia Vyatskaya discovered the children's tights in a retail store and shared images of the packaging on the social media platform Threads. She pointed out that the product line included labels reading Sweet Girl and Lolita, questioning who allows girls' tights to be named in such a manner.
The packaging depicted young girls, including one model wearing a mini-dress alongside tights featuring upper nylon inserts designed to imitate adult stockings. The child model was also styled with a voluminous hairstyle and visible makeup.
Packaging details and public backlash
The social media post gained widespread attention following its publication, accumulating nearly 26,000 likes and 1,500 comments on the Meta-owned platform.
Commenters expressed strong disapproval over the product design and branding choices. One user described the packaging as disgusting, adding that it was especially terrible that many people consider such styling to be normal. Another commenter remarked that the brand had gone too far with its creative direction.
Other users criticized the brand for what they described as another clear instance of child sexualization, noting that the context of the imagery was obvious. One customer stated that she had immediately stopped buying from Conte, while another user questioned why young girls would need tights that imitate stockings, calling the overall concept dark.
Brand background and previous controversies
Conte, officially known as Conte Elegant, is a major hosiery and clothing manufacturer headquartered in Grodno, Belarus. Established in 1997, the company produces tights, stockings, and garments distributed across Eastern Europe and international markets. The label Lolita on children's clothing carries long-standing cultural sensitivity due to its association with Vladimir Nabokov's 1955 novel of the same name, which depicts the sexual exploitation of a young girl.
This incident is not the first marketing controversy involving the Belarusian brand. In November of last year, Conte faced similar public backlash over the design of an advent calendar containing socks.
