
HOT DENIM (2011)
Anyone who is secure about herself shouldn’t be threatened by the ads I do. What we’re doing is fun—if you have any sense of humor at all! —Calvin Klein
When Calvin Klein hired a largely unknown fifteen-year-old model to utter the words, “You know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing,” the entire Western world screamed. Brooke Shields became an instant household name and the sales of not only Calvin Klein jeans, but all denim jeans skyrocketed. The war for who makes the sexiest jean was on and has yet to end. Styles have changed from skinny to loose to flared to straight-legged with at least a hundred different variations of each. Stone washed, pre-shrunk, pre-stressed, pre-torn, cut, embellished, and studded styles have all come, gone, and returned again.
Of course, deep down inside, somewhere, you know the ads are lying. Just this year, one of the sexiest advertisers, Abercrombie & Fitch, has backed off their nearly hardcore ads because they weren’t working with a target age group that isn’t so impressed by the overt sexuality. Still, look at the ads, and even though the tone is softer, there remains an understated sensuality that pulls one in and makes them want a new pair of jeans. Even millennials eschewing materialism still buy jeans. You know you want them even now. We’ll see you at the mall.