From time to time, a certain garment captures the Internet’s attention like nothing else. In 2015, it was “The Dress” that people couldn’t decide was blue and black or white and gold. In 2020, everyone was going crazy over the Lirika Matoshi strawberry dress and the JW Anderson Harry Styles cardigan.
Today, the Internet is mesmerized by the Free People Lola Blue denim jumpsuit. The craze started when Emily Haswell, aka @myemtv, shared a video of her wearing the garment, paired with hysterical commentary.
“I look like pants. I’m pants,” the creator quipped, bringing attention to how ridiculous the jumpsuit looked with its extra-long zipper, unflattering silhouette, and laughable overall design idea, questioning who could have come up with this absurdly terrible creation.
A denim jumpsuit by Free People recently went viral for its hilariously fascinating design
Some customers actually bought it, but weren’t too happy with what they got
One woman was intrigued and decided to buy it too
But in her review, she mercilessly roasted the jumpsuit: “I look like pants. I’m pants”
Emily’s video was so funny that it got over 12 million views in over a week
ALOHAS markets itself as an ethical, accessible luxury brand, but employs some tactics that fast-fashion brands use
The garment in question is the Free People ALOHAS Lola Blue Denim Jumpsuit. Right now, it’s listed as “sold out” on the Free People website and costs $59.95 on sale (the original price was $200). We’ll leave it to each of you to decide whether you think it’s worth the money and whether it’s really so popular that the manufacturer ran out (or if it's just the infamy).
Questionably designed clothes are becoming more common as people rely more and more on fast fashion brands. Although ALOHAS probably wouldn’t like that label, and their prices don’t put them in the same category as Shein, Zara, Forever 21, or Primark, it’s confusing how an ethical, responsible clothing brand could come up with something like this.
ALOHAS is a Spanish brand primarily focused on footwear. Founded in 2016, the company named sustainability and durability as its core principles and uses an on-demand model. Yet in 2026, it also operates through sellers like Free People.
According to ethical fashion rating platforms like Ecothes and Good On You, ALOHAS employs a hybrid business model. They manufacture handcrafted footwear in Spain and some apparel in Portugal, with the on-demand model available when ordering directly from their website. Shipping times for pre-orders can take several weeks or even months — clearly a result of a more ethical, sustainable manufacturing process.
At the same time, they do traditional batch manufacturing and sell through brands like Free People. Ecothes notes that ALOHAS uses “fast-fashion marketing tactics despite sustainability branding, sells 300+ shoe styles, uses urgency-driven language, and employs influencer-heavy marketing.” The sustainability directory also adds that the brand has no repair, take-back, or circularity program, and that their “zero waste” claims are unsubstantiated.
Still, both directories rate them above average for sustainability and ethical fashion. Although it has some transparency gaps, it’s still a better business model than many fast-fashion brands. So, it’s hard to say what went wrong with this jumpsuit — was the idea or the execution flawed?
Backlash on social media is sometimes the best form of promotion a clothing brand can get
Is it possible that fashion brands sometimes rage-bait us with nonsensical designs and poorly stitched clothes? Some say that yes. The age-old saying goes, “All publicity is good publicity,” and the same can be applied to clothes, especially if they generate attention on social media.
We already know that, as humans, we have a negativity bias — we’re more likely to react to something if it elicits a negative reaction from us. Similarly, in this case, a ridiculous jumpsuit gets more attention on social than a beautifully crafted and designed one would.
As PR consultant and media strategist Nectaria Panagiotou told Lampoon Magazine, backlash can be promotion, too. Panagiotou points to Crocs or MSCHF’s Big Red Boots of 2023 as examples. “The mockery wasn’t an obstacle to the sale. The mockery was the campaign, just one nobody commissioned.”
On social media, fashion trends move at lightning speed. Instead of the classic 12-month window for seasonal collections, fast fashion brands now operate on about 50 micro-trends per year. Perhaps it’s no surprise that sometimes, the results of rushed design and production are like this ridiculously bad denim jumpsuit.
“Ain’t nothing Aloha about that,” the commenters joined in on the chaos, mocking the garment and the brand
