Heidi Klum and 20-year-old daughter Leni criticised over lingerie photoshoot

Model Heidi Klum and her daughter Leni have appeared in a lingerie shoot together, sparking a debate on social media.

Heidi, 51, and her eldest daughter Leni, 20, are the stars of Italian lingerie brand Intimissimi's latest campaign which has been shared on their Instagram.

The first post shows the mother and daughter standing side by side in their underwear, alongside the caption: "Family, fashion, femininity all in one empowering, stylish collection - Heidi and Leni Klum are back with the new Fall Winter campaign."

The second post, a video, showed the two filming each other in the lingerie, and Heidi stroking her daughter's waist - prompting a flummoxed response from some followers.

You can watch the video yourself below:

One person wrote: "This is really weird and inappropriate ….. mother and daughter filming each other in lingerie?!!! What is this????"

Another person said: "Congratulations. You’ve won Weirdest advert in the world award."

A third added: "Just no!!!! This is totally the wrong message. Who approved this? What is Heidi thinking?"

While a fourth fumed: "As you can tell this campaign was a total creepy failure."

Intimissimi captioned the controversial clip: "Lace that flatters, support that empowers - From generation to generation, #intimissimi celebrates every facet of femininity. #theartofitalianlingerie."

While many people thought the campaign odd, others rushed to the defence of the mother and daughter duo.

Heidi and Leni Klum's photoshoot has sparked criticism (Intimissimi)

One person wrote: “They are just modeling. They are not making out. Mother and daughter modeling for the same brand."

Another said: “BEAUTIFUL and I don't understand the comments who say it is weird to do this with your mom. WHY?

"Do they eventually see the female body and lingerie as something always s3xual? Or what is the problem? I’m really curious to understand their way of thinking, because to me, this is just a mother & daughter who are like best friends LOVE IT!”

Leni reshared the campaign to her personal Instagram page, encouraging people to explore the collection.

Heidi Klum with her daughter, Leni (Gotham/FilmMagic)

She wrote: “Our new @Intimissimiofficial campaign is OUT NOW! Look at the new collection online and in all Intimissimi stores! Excited to show you more of this perfect collection… Keep an eye out!”

Her comment section attracted the same tone of critique as that of the brand - though Heidi turned off the ability to comment on her own page.

This isn't the first time Heidi and Leni have modelled lingerie together.

The latest campaign for Intimissimi follows a number of collaborations between the brand and the two women.

Tyla has reached out to Intimissimi for comment.