FKA Twigs' Calvin Klein ad, 2023.Photo: MERT AND MARCUS
A Calvin Klein ad featuring British singer-songwriterFKA twigshas been banned in the U.K. following complaints over nudity shown in the image.
Asummaryof the council’s ruling stated that in one photo, “the side of her buttocks and half of one breast [was] exposed” in a “Calvins or nothing” ad. The complaint also referred to shots withKendall Jennerin which the model posed “topless with her hands held across her bare chest.”
In the two complaints that the U.K.’s ASA received, the images were deemed as “overly sexualised," and went on to say that the ad was “offensive and irresponsible, because they objectified women; and inappropriate for display in an untargeted medium.”
“The ad used nudity and centered on FKA twigs’ physical features rather than the clothing, to the extent that it presented her as a stereotypical sexual object,” the ASA said, adding that the “image’s composition placed viewers’ focus on the model’s body rather than on the clothing being advertised.”
FKA Twigs.Dave Benett/Getty
On Wednesday,twigs respondedto the banning on Instagram, calling out its “double standards” while opening up about the empowering relationship she has with her body.
“I do not see the ‘stereotypical sexual object’ that they have labelled me. I see a beautiful strong woman of colour whose incredible body has overcome more pain than you can imagine,” she began in her statement.“In light of reviewing other campaigns past and current of this nature, I can’t help but feel there are some double standards here.”
She continued, “I am proud of my physicality and hold the art I create with my vessel to the standards of women like Josephine Baker, Eartha Kitt and Grace Jones who broke down barriers of what it looks like to be empowered and harness a unique embodied sensuality.”
She concluded her message with thanks to the Calvin Klein team for giving her the “space to express myself exactly how I wanted to. I will not have my narrative changed.”
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According to ASA’s ruling summary, Calvin Klein also responded to the criticism, saying that “the ads were similar to ads they had been publishing in the U.K. for many years.”
The fashion company said it is “well known for being a pioneering and progressive brand that engaged in a range of equity and equality focused partnerships,” and denied over-sexualizing either of the models.
FKA twigs, Paris Fashion Week.EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty
Per ASA’s summary, “Calvin Klein said the images were not vulgar and were of two confident and empowered women who had chosen to identify with the Calvin Klein brand, and that the ads contained a progressive and enlightened message.”
Defending the amount of partial nudity featured in their campaign, the brand reiterated that “the ads were for clothing, including underwear, and so a degree of nudity should be expected.”
“On my way to meet muva and her friends,” Twigs captioned an Oct. 16 carousel ofphotos and videos on Instagramdocumenting the epic evening.
The video in her upload showed twigs dancing on a chair in the middle of the stage and receiving a lap dance from three male performers, while Madonna, 65, held up a sign that said “10.” She also ended up kissing one of the dancers.
source: people.com
