Calvin Klein Spring 2023 Ad Campaign Review

Review of Calvin Klein Spring 2023 Ad Campaign by Creative Director and Photographer Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott with models Aaron Taylor-Johnson, FKA Twigs, Jennie Kim, Kendall Jenner, and Michael B. Jordan

Calvin Klein strips down for its Spring 2023 campaign, which features a cast of global stars shot by the renowned photographer duo of Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.

The campaign sees new stars Michael B. Jordan and Aaron Taylor-Johnson make their brand debut alongside returning ambassadors FKA Twigs, Jennie of Blackpink, and Kendall Jenner. While the brand’s formula of hot celebrities taking their clothes off in black-and-white studio portraits is quite familiar at this point, something about its use in this campaign feels especially potent. Whether it’s the distinct energy brought by each star, the brilliantly minimal styling moments (see the muscular arms and hips of FKA Twigs wrapped in nothing but a trucker jacket), or the straightforward yet sensitive and intimate approach that Mert and Marcus take to capturing them, everything just comes together to make us blush but unable to turn away. It’s the classic queer conundrum: do we want them, or do we want to be them? In this case, it’s a little bit of both.

Some body diversity would have been nice (this season of runway shows and campaigns is feeling like a step back for size inclusivity). Other than that one, not insignificant oversight, the campaign is another impactful embodiment of one of the brand’s most apt mottos: “Calvins or nothing.”