The Waistband That Became a Status Symbol
Reinventing Underwear Advertising (1982)
Before Calvin Klein, underwear was invisible. It was a utilitarian garment purchased in multipacks, hidden beneath clothing, and never discussed in polite company. Calvin Klein changed all of that — not by reinventing the product, but by reinventing how it was seen.
In 1982, Calvin Klein launched its underwear line with a simple concept: take the designer's minimalist aesthetic and apply it to the most basic garment in the wardrobe. The key design element was the wide, logo-embossed elastic waistband. It was meant to be seen. It demanded to be seen.
Brooke Shields and the Art of Provocation (1980)
Even before the underwear line, Calvin Klein had mastered provocative advertising. The 1980 jeans campaign featuring 15-year-old Brooke Shields declaring "Nothing comes between me and my Calvins" was banned by CBS and ABC — and instantly became one of the most famous advertisements in history.
This willingness to provoke established the template for everything that followed. Calvin Klein understood that in fashion, controversy is currency.
The Mark Wahlberg Campaign (1992)
The image that defined Calvin Klein Underwear — and arguably all underwear advertising forever after — arrived in 1992. Photographer Herb Ritts shot a young Mark Wahlberg (then known as Marky Mark) in nothing but white Calvin Klein briefs. The billboard in Times Square stopped traffic. Literally.
Wahlberg's chiseled physique, combined with the stark black-and-white photography and the prominent CK waistband, created an image so iconic that it transcended advertising and became pop culture. Men who had never thought about underwear as a fashion choice suddenly wanted Calvin Klein. The campaign is credited with reviving men's brief sales industry-wide.
Kate Moss and the 1990s Aesthetic
The partnership with Kate Moss in the 1990s defined an era. Shot by Mario Sorrenti in grainy, intimate black-and-white, the campaigns captured the decade's "heroin chic" aesthetic. Moss draped across a couch in a Calvin Klein bralette and briefs became the definitive image of '90s cool.
The Waistband as Cultural Signifier
Calvin Klein achieved something unprecedented: it made a waistband a status symbol. The visible CK elastic — peeking above the waistline of jeans, visible beneath an unbuttoned shirt — became a deliberate fashion statement. It was simultaneously underwear and outerwear, intimate and public.
This innovation has been copied by virtually every brand since. Supreme, Versace, and dozens of others adopted the logo waistband. But Calvin Klein was first, and the association remains strongest.
The Justin Bieber Era and Beyond (2015-Present)
The brand has continued to refresh its image through celebrity partnerships — Justin Bieber's 2015 campaign, Kendall Jenner, FKA Twigs, and the "I _____ in #MyCalvins" social media campaign. The #MyCalvins hashtag has generated billions of impressions across platforms.
Calvin Klein Underwear did not invent underwear. It invented underwear as identity — as something you chose deliberately, displayed proudly, and used to signal who you were.