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Calvin Klein’s 1990s ads are some of the most iconic images in fashion. Three decades later, an homage to those classic ads puts transgender men front and center to celebrate their identities.
This is the first campaign from Both& Apparel, a start-up fashion label for transmasculine, nonbinary and gender non-conforming people. The ads promote the brand’s new denim range and will take over outdoor sites in fashion capitals of New York, London and Paris starting Monday.
The Calvin Klein-inspired posters feature three transgender men appearing topless or in white T-shirts and jeans. The aim is to challenge notions of modern masculinity, sex appeal and empowerment.
“This was about recognizing a moment in time for trans people, especially trans masculine people,” WongDoody chief creative and design officer Grace Francis told Adweek. “What better way to reference joy and their identities than to acknowledge another moment in time that’s so recognizable in fashion and New York: the original Calvin Klein campaigns.”
The ‘90s Calvin Klein ads, which were shot by photographer Herb Ritts and featured actor Mark Wahlberg and models Kate Moss, Sasha Mitchell and Marcus Schenkenberg, provided inspiration to Both& as a pivotal moment for masculinity in fashion.
“It was the first time I saw men being able to own the identity of their bodies as being desirable and to take up space and be the main feature,” Francis explained.
Coinciding with Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, Both&’s homage is meant to provide a moment of joy and celebration when so much rhetoric about transgender people is negative, Francis continued.
“Trans people deserve a moment to feel sexy, powerful, ready for a job interview, or to catch your reflection in the window of a shop and go, ‘yeah, that’s me,’” Francis said. “This is about showing there’s a multifaceted asset to existence. All of us on earth like getting dressed and feeling good in our clothes, feeling great and hot.”
