Studying Time: 4 minutes
Is Luigi Mangione a mannequin for SHEIN?
Final yr, Luigi grew to become a family identify following his arrest as a suspect within the loss of life of a healthcare CEO.
He is a well-liked man, with the world instantly dreaming up fancasting for inevitable biopics.
If he’s presently in jail (and he’s), then why does his face appear to look in an advert for reasonable, controversial quick vogue?
In September 2025, SHEIN apparently eliminated this mannequin picture from its web site. The face seems conspicuously acquainted. (Picture Credit score: SHEIN)
Is Luigi Mangione modeling for SHEIN?
SHEIN is a controversial fast-fashion platform infamous for unbelievably low cost clothes.
Judging by individuals who have bought and commented on social media, high quality will be a difficulty. Some liken it to the Temu of clothes.
Nobody anticipated to see what strongly seems to be Luigi Mangione modeling for SHEIN.
Given SHEIN’s lengthy checklist of controversies, we all know that they’ve a historical past of attention-grabbing scandals. However … what on the earth is that this?
Luigi Mangione attends a listening to at Manhattan Legal Courtroom on February 21, 2025. (Photograph Credit score: Steven Hirsch – Pool/Getty Pictures)
In case you want a reminder, Luigi is a younger man who rose from anonymity to fame in late 2024 after he was accused of the deadly capturing of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson.
Other than the Epstein scandal, one struggles to consider a subject extra unifying throughout the political aisle in these polarized occasions.
People have robust emotions about medical insurance corporations in our hellish dystopia.
That stated, Luigi has not but had his trial, and prosecutors have confirmed nothing. Due to this fact, it stays inappropriate to label him a “hero” as many have carried out.
On this web page of SHEIN adverts, one appears to face out. (Picture Credit score: SHEIN)
Is that actually him?
To be blunt, there’s merely no approach that that is really Luigi Mangione within the SHEIN advert.
He stays in jail awaiting his trial.
Although he has a groundswell of assist from throughout the nation, that’s unlikely to get him some type of work launch to pose in garments.
In addition to, shut scrutiny of the pictures reveals that it doesn’t look fairly proper. Some consider that it’s a mannequin who solely strongly resembles Luigi.
Others consider that the picture could also be genAI slop, doubtlessly stealing Luigi’s likeness to advertise a shirt.
Heartthrob Luigi Nicholas Mangione leaves the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, on December 19, 2024. (Photograph Credit score: GENE J. PUSKAR/POOL/AFP through Getty Pictures)
No matter is occurring, SHEIN was utilizing — previous tense, was utilizing — Luigi’s famously good-looking face to promote $11 shirts. Whether or not it’s genAI slop or a lookalike, the resemblance is staggering.
On principle is that SHEIN is using some artistic advertising and marketing. In case you take a well-known, sizzling face and plaster it onto a digital mannequin, you’re going to draw consideration.
Relatedly, the corporate might be intentionally chasing controversy. Even if you happen to’ve by no means met such an individual in actual life, there are individuals who consider that Luigi is a “bad guy.”
The Trump administration hopes to kill him, which must be sufficient to remind anybody of which facet is correct.
As of Wednesday, September 3, the adverts to the SHEIN doppleganger mannequin appeared to have been deleted. Maybe they have been moved, or perhaps somebody thought higher of stealing this specific likeness. (Picture Credit score: SHEIN)
This apparently deleted advert may even have been an accident
The third possibility is, to be blunt, that this might be an accident. A drained, overworked SHEIN worker (keep in mind, it is a firm for whom labor violations and slavery-related allegations come up a number of occasions) feediing prompts to whichever god-awful genAI program to generate fashions may simply say “handsome 20-year-old man.”
GenAI is a plagiarism machine, scanning actual faces, pictures, writing, artwork work and extra with a purpose to churn out slop. It’s conceivable that it chosen Luigi Mangione solely for his handsomeness.
Workers may not have acknowledged that this system stole the face of a well-known man.
That, after all, is solely hypothesis. No matter occurred, as of Wednesday morning, hyperlinks to the advert web page not confirmed Luigi’s face, as you may see above.
This can be a constructive improvement. Any firm looking for to revenue from Luigi’s good-looking countenance ought to pay him to take action.
