FKA Twigs responds to her banned Calvin Klein advert: “There are some double standards here”
English musician FKA Twigs has hit back after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned her Calvin Klein campaign.
Despite the company being known for its provocative adverts, with a recent video campaign of Jeremy Allen White wearing nothing more than his underwear going viral, the ASA banned the image of Twigs.
The black-and-white photograph shows Twigs wearing a denim shirt that is draped over half of her breast and backside. The ASA stated: “We considered the image’s composition placed viewers’ focus on the model’s body rather than on the clothing being advertised.”
Banning the advertisement for positing Twigs as a “stereotypical sexual object”, calling it “irresponsible and likely to cause serious offence,” the musician responded on Instagram.
She wrote, “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.”
The musician highlighted several Black women who have broken down barriers “of what it looks like to be empowered and harness a unique embodied sensuality”, such as Grace Jones.
“There are some double standards here,” Twigs concluded, alluding to the other images from the campaign that weren’t banned, such as Kendall Jenner’s. The model’s photo features her cupping her bare breasts while lying on the floor in a pair of jeans. “I will not have my narrative changed,” she explained.
Calvin Klein has also defended the advert, stating: “The images were not vulgar and were of two confident and empowered women who had chosen to identify with the Calvin Klein brand, and the ads contained a progressive and enlightened message.”
Read the full post from FKA Twigs below.
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