In the offending advertisement, FKA Twigs (36) wore a denim shirt that was pulled halfway down her body, exposing the side of her buttocks and half of a breast. Below that the text: “Calvins or nothing”.
The ASA, the Advertising Standards Authority, intervened and ruled, based on two complaints, that the image “drew viewers’ attention from the model’s body rather than from the clothing being advertised”. By focusing on her “physical features,” the advertising watchdog argued in its decision, “she was presented as a stereotypical sexual object.” And so the advertisement had to be removed from the streets.
Small-mindedness
FKA Twigs is still fierce. “I don’t see the ‘stereotypical sexual object’ in me. I see a beautiful, strong woman of color whose incredible body has overcome more pain than you can imagine,” she responded to the whole fuss on Thursday. Despite the ban, she said she was “proud” of the photos, thanking Calvin Klein and fashion photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot.
“I don’t see the ‘stereotypical sexual object’ in me. I see a beautiful, strong, woman of color whose incredible body has overcome more pain than you can imagine.”
FKA Twigs
About banning her ad
The fact that FKA Twigs, of all people, has to cover her body shows small-mindedness, according to the British fashion and advertising world. “Her entire oeuvre is permeated with eroticism and, moreover, it sounds like adult women can decide for themselves how far they want to go.”
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In underwear
Ironically, Jeremy Allen White, the Hollywood actor known for The Bear, was praised to the skies a few days ago when he posed for the same brand in underwear. The internet exploded, and there were plenty of hot comments. Women almost swooned over his heavenly body, American media wrote.
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Jeremy Allen White — © Calvin Klein
FKA Twigs is unable to explain why one person is allowed to appear half-naked on posters and the other is not. Pure discrimination and overprotection, so to speak, patronizing, she responded.
Jeremy Allen White, who can continue to show his body on the billboards, has not yet responded to the fuss and shared his advertising photos of Calvin Klein himself on social media. Calvin Klein has now defended itself by stating that the advertisements are in the same style as other advertising campaigns that the company has been releasing for years. They certainly don’t lose sleep over the fuss, on the contrary. For them it is extra publicity.
The clothing and perfume brand has long been known for controversial advertisements. In 1992, seventeen-year-old Kate Moss appeared topless in the Calvin Klein Underwear catalogue, and in May 2022 the brand launched an advertisement featuring a pregnant trans man.