FKA twigs lambasts 'double standards' over Clavin Klein poster ban

FKA twigs has hit back after her Calvin Klein poster was banned over complaints it objectified women, saying she feels there are "double standards" at play.

The poster for Calvin Klein featuring British musician FKA twigs has been banned in the UK by the Advertising Standards Authority for being "likely to cause serious offence by objectifying women."

The poster, first seen in April 2023, featured the singer wearing a denim shirt that was drawn halfway around her body, with text reading: "Calvins or nothing."

The picture left the side of FKA twigs buttocks' and half of her breast exposed.

The ASA did not ban two other posters from the same campaign featuring model Kendall Jenner, after complaints were received on the same grounds.

The caption of Jenner's poster, also shared on the company's Instagram read: "A sensual muse. The spring campaign"

However the ASA felt that Jenner's poster, did not focus on Jenner's body in a manner that portrayed her as a sexual object and "the level of nudity was not beyond that which people would expect for a lingerie ad".

The artist, whose real name is Tahliah Debrett Barnett, challenged the complaints in an Instagram post on Thursday and thanked Calvin Klein for giving her the "space to express myself exactly how I wanted to".

The 36-year-old British singer songwriter said that in "light of reviewing other campaigns past and current of this nature, I can’t help but feel there are some double standards here"

FKA twigs said of the image: 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".

 

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A post shared by FKA twigs (@fkatwigs)

Concluding her post on Instagram, the artist said: "So to be clear… 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"

The billion dollar fashion franchise also defended the campaign saying it was similiar to those it had been releasing in the UK for many years.

The fashion brand said FKA twigs, who it described as a "confident and empowered woman", had collaborated with Calvin Klein to produce the image and had approved it before publication.

It added that all "conventionally sensitive" body areas were fully covered and the subject was in a natural and neutral position.