FKA Twigs has responded to a ruling by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority which concluded that a Calvin Klein advert she appeared in last year "presented her as a stereotypical sexual object" and was therefore "irresponsible and likely to cause serious offence".
Sharing the image used in the ad on Instagram, she writes: "I do not see the ‘stereotypical sexual object’ that they have labelled me [as]. I see a beautiful strong woman of colour whose incredible body has overcome more pain than you can imagine".
Complaints were submitted to the ASA about three ads that appeared as part of the fashion brand's 'Calvins Or Nothing' campaign last April. One featured FKA Twigs and the other two Kendall Jenner. The complaints about the ads featuring Jenner were not upheld.
In its ruling, the ASA says that the FKA Twigs adverts showed the musician "modelling a denim shirt. FKA Twigs’ buttocks and breast were exposed, and her shirt was draped over one shoulder and drawn halfway across her body. We considered the image’s composition placed viewers’ focus on the model’s body rather than on the clothing being advertised".
"The ad used nudity and centred on FKA Twig’s physical features rather than the clothing", it goes on, "to the extent that it presented her as a stereotypical sexual object. We therefore concluded [the advert] was irresponsible and likely to cause serious offence".
In its response to the ASA's inquiry, Calvin Klein said that the three ads being investigated were not vulgar and featured "two confident and empowered women" who had chosen to identify with the Calvin Klein brand, and that the ads contained "a progressive and enlightened message".
It added that it had produced many similar adverts over the years, and that its wider campaign also featured well known men, indicating that its ads were not focused on sexualising women. In her Instagram post, FKA Twigs also notes other Calvin Klein campaigns past and present, and the different responses people have had to them.
"In light of reviewing other campaigns past and current of this nature, I can’t help but feel there are some double standards here", she writes. The current campaign referred to might be that featuring actor Jeremy Allen White, which has got a lot of attention this month.
"So to be clear", she continues, "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".