The British singer, songwriter, and dancer Tahliah Debrett Barnett (aka FKA twigs) is busy with her upcoming American supernatural superhero film, The Crow. However, she sparked a controversy by allegedly emerging as a sexual object in a Calvin Klein poster.
It is not the first controversy for Calvin Klein and FKA. The British singer faced sexist and racist online abuse for getting engaged to the English actor Robert Pattison before they split in 2017. She is fighting a legal battle with American actor and her ex-boyfriend Shia LaBeouf because she accused him of sexual battery and assault.
However, FKA’s relationships with the other two guys after 2020 did not create any controversy. Besides the poster mentioned in the article, FKA shared one more image showing her in Calvin Klein’s white-colored innerwear on Twitter. She also shared a video in which she made some sensual moves in black innerwear.
ASA’s Decision
UK’s ASA (Advertising Standard Authority) announced a ban on Calvin Klein’s poster featuring FKA twigs on 10 January 2023 (Wednesday). The poster was released in April 2023 along with two other posters, but ASA took action after receiving complaints from people regarding the first one.
The poster shows FKA wearing a denim shirt off her right shoulder. Moreover, she does not wear it completely. The poster reveals half of her breast, waist, and hip, which indicates nudity in the name of advertising for a brand. ASA also agreed that the poster highlights her body than the brand.
The complainants considered the poster unnecessarily sexualized, irresponsible, and offensive. They assume the company must have run out of ideas and decided to objectify a woman for more sales. They also question its effects on people, though it is lingerie advertising.
Thus, ASA has ordered Calvin Klein not to make a similar poster that goes against the complaints. Surprisingly, the second poster depicted Kendall Jenner holding her breasts, and the third showed her lying on the back in innerwear, but ASA did not find it offensive or must not have received complaints against it.
The regulator can begin an investigation against such advertisements even after receiving a single complaint, but it does so only in 20% of cases as the remaining do not require investigation. ASA accepts complaints from people and industry while maintaining their anonymity.
Several complaints against a single entity trigger quick action from ASA. Further, it follows an eleven-stage process, which includes active communication between ASA and the advertiser.
The fashion industry is infamous for presenting nudity instead of creativity for more sales, which gets criticized by Sir John Hegarty, who co-founded the British Global Advertising Agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH). He thinks they only decorate the things to be sold rather than presenting them artistically.
Reaction Over ASA’s Decision
FKA twigs took it to Instagram and stated she did not find her poster vulgar. Instead, she called it a sign of her confidence and independence. She also claimed that the ban was a result of double standards but did not explain what the ‘double standards’ meant for her.
However, FKA agreed to have given a touch of sensuality to the poster. She compared herself to a few famous female personalities who broke the barriers and came out as different people through graceful sensuality. So, the bottom line is that FKA, a singer and dancer who does not follow heterosexual norms while performing, was not affected by the ban.
Meanwhile, Calvin Klein came ahead to defend the advertisement and had views similar to those of FKA. It claimed that the three posters came with a positive message and made the models confident instead of highlighting vulgarity.
According to the global fashion brand, Kendall Jenner and FKA gave natural poses, had no issues over the photos, and claimed to have gained more empowerment and confidence than before.
Calvin Klein is known for presenting sensuality and nude models. Brooke Shields triggered a controversy by stating nothing came between her and Calvin Klein when she was only fifteen in 1980. Thus, the latest controversy must have only been added to the list of several other controversies.
The global fashion brand also released a video featuring The Bear actor Jeremy Allen White, where he removed his clothes and finally walked only in the white CK boxer shorts over the roofs of the buildings, and it has not created any controversy yet.
The advertisement also zooms at his private parts inside the boxer shorts. Jeremy reportedly stated that doing the advertisement was bizarre, and the way they launched it was more bizarre.
