Fashion / Style

To up the pulse, these are the best Calvin Klein campaigns of all time

WORDS Karen Leong     PHOTOGRAPHY Courtesy of Calvin Klein    PUBLISHED Wed, 28 Aug 2024 - 5:44 pm

Like no other house, Calvin Klein set the new world order for a teething, All-American sexuality. As pioneers of designer denim, fragrance, and later underwear, the Calvin Klein name was a social experiment that corralled in a new era of fashion. Call it Calvin, call it all-American, call it sacrilegious. Whatever it was, it worked.

For decades, Klein's skin-tight designs and denim paired laterally, often in the nude, have heralded a new reign of fashion advertising. They pushed the envelope, setting puritanical hysteria a target like no other every time their ads went on air.

On the sensational output his photos would receive, Klein once said: That’s what it’s about — that’s what puts the fun in fashion…. Is it decent? Is it exciting? is it valid? Is it over the line? It’s a whole process, but it’s not about trying to be controversial or trendy.”

And yet, every time, the formula never varied too greatly. Our stars photographed against the now signature slate-grey backdrop in an unblemished gloss of black and white. They appeared in the label's line-up of intimates and denimwear, rucked suggestively, but in control. A Calvin Klein muse is aware of their staying power, in no deference to how scantily they might have been dressed.

With Veronica Leoni instituted as Klein's latest creative successor, we're looking to see if the brand continues to get us flush under the collar. Today, we harken back to the best of the Calvin Klein campaigns to ever hit our screens. Time to get your heart rate up.

Let's take a look.

 

Jeremy Allen White (2024)

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Calvin Klein (@calvinklein)

We all remember where we were when Calvin Klein dropped its first campaign with The Bear star, Jeremy Allen White. Lesley Gore's You Don't Own Me played on repeat in our minds for weeks to come. Shot by Mert Alas, the campaign captured the actor undressing against the New York skyline, and will be engrained in our minds for years to come.

Jennie, (2024)

The Korean superstar's partnership with Calvin Klein has been the most explosive in its history. She crashed the brand site with her collaborative line of intimates, which sold out the collection in seconds. Her latest campaign is no different, featuring her ambling in a high-ceilinged loft in her white-piped black Calvins. She's sinewy in her movement but oh-so-casual. Jennie is, undisputably, heiress apparent of Calvin Klein.

 

ASAP Rocky (2019)

ASAP Rocky's Calvin Klein campaign kicked off in 2019, to mayhem online and in-person. Starring alongside an equally rugged up Sean Mendes, the artist wheeled forward on a bike in nothing but his Calvins.

 

Christy Turlington (1999)

A long communion with Calvin Klein is a Christy Turlington legacy. At just nineteen years of age, she fronted the 'Eternity' fragrance of the 1988s, which ushered in $35 million within the first year of its release. In the following year, she returned to model a collection of their lace-trimmed camisoles paired with their women's underwear collection. Clock the boy brief: It was popularised by Turlington before anyone else.

 

Aaron Taylor Johnson (2023)

Does he require an introduction? We've written at length about Aaron Taylor Johnson's, well, appeal.  As the 18-year old troubadour who captured much of the teenage imagination, I had my sights firmly set on Johnson from his Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging days. For the American house, Johnson has appeared twice in front of the frame: In 2010 and 2023. Both drew in commotion, but the latter with its dimly lit teaser travelling Johnson's body where the light doesn't shine sparked an uproar online.

Mary Fowler, (2023)

Mary Fowler, queen of our hearts. Her Calvins advert in modern cotton is a reinterpretation of the standard we've seen so many times before, but it's different because it's got our own Mary spin all over it. Our RUSSH cover girl's take on the Calvin Campaign is still unabashedly true to who she is.

 

Kate Moss 'Obsession', (1985)

1985 marked the birth year of Obsession: Calvin Klein's very first fragrance campaign. The advertisement budget tallied up to $13 million, but it all paid off. Moss, who paraded as one of 'Obsessions' muses, can be seen emerging wet and wispy, the height of scandal in this reverie-inducing campaign.

 

Mark Wahlberg (1985)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jason Kanner (@jasonsoul1)

 

Yes, Wahlberg got his start as Marky Mark, alongside Moss in the breakout Calvin Klein ads of the '80s. The rest was history: the two ascended to heights in acting and modelling alike, and the Calvin denims were first off the shelf for years to follow.

Bella Hadid, (2021)

Hadid did her big one for Calvin Klein in 2021, though she ventured down a different path. Latticed in CK belts from tip to toe, the supermodel was lensed by Katie Burnett in this editorial. There is no sign of the duochromed matching sets, or the jeans that so many of the other muses have worn. As always, Hadid wends her own path.

 

Symone, (2021)

For the Proud in my Calvins campaign, drag artist Symone reset the status quo. Though the visual formula remains the same, Symone reminisces on one of the first times she's felt confident in her skin and in her queerness. Photographed by Grant Vanderbilt, Symone is untouchable.

 

FKA Twigs, (2023)

An ad so racy it got taken down. But is it really so, when we compare it to the jubilant reception other Calvin muses have received, baring virtually the same amount? In response to the ruling, FKA Twigs issued a statement on Instagram which said: “I do not see the ‘stereotypical sexual object’ that they have labelled me. I see a strong beautiful woman of color whose incredible body has overcome more pain than you can imagine.” FKA Twigs' ad is a limber, joyous portrait of a woman rich in her sexuality. It is the Calvin Klein standard - and one we recognise to be true to herself.

Brooke Shields, (1994)

The denim commercials starring Brooke Shields sent the world in a tizzy. The campaign, shot and directed by Richard Avedon, included an ad featuring the seemingly suggestive tagline: “You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.” This spot, among others, were pulled off the air in some countries, including on local affiliates of the American networks ABC, NBC and CBS.

Greta Lee, (2024)

The latest tapped is none other than Greta Lee. Modelling the Fall 2024 underwear line, Lee's campaign shot by Mert Alas honours the oaky, golden hour of Autumn, showcasing Lee's strength and form as she gears up for some mid-morning exercise. It has also left us fanning ourselves. Lee: "I tapped into this sense of confidence, empowerment and gratitude for my life, my family and my body. It was a radical and emotional experience for me, and I’m so proud of it.”

 

Stay inspired, follow us.

  • RUSSH TikTok icon
  • RUSSH X icon

Images: One, two.

Related Content