Mapplethorpe Meets Calvin

Check out the new Robert Mapplethorpe inspired advertising campaign for Calvin Klein Collection. The ads were shot by renowned photographer Steven Klein and feature model David Agbodji, and are a new favorite among Out staffers.

Comments

[Vglmen]

How is this inspired by Mapplethorpe, exactly? Black muscular model? Please! The comparison is a disservice to both Mapplethorpe and Steven Klein.

[Gra Gra Gabour]

The poses are graphic and very Mapplethorpe, and the fact that they have shot a black guy for the campaign which they NEVER do, along with the fact that he is nude which were perhaps some of Mapplethorpe's most iconic images.would make me think that they probably were a reference for the shoot. Of course Steven Klein brings his own look to it but I would hardly say its a disservice to either one of them. Infact Kleins work often references bondage and Mapplethorpe pioneered that

[Vglmen]

In fact, the nude poses (to the extent that they are an homage or derivative) are a direct descendant of Herb Ritts' work with Djimon Hounsou for Calvin Klein.

The Mapplethorpe reference is just not accurate.