Moonlighting
After the Oscars, Calvin Klein celebrates the ‘Moonlight’ cast in its new campaign for men.
With the Oscars’ best-picture envelope mishap behind us, it’s clear that “Moonlight” is a winner in many ways. Just check out the stylish, new black-and-white men’s underwear campaign from Calvin Klein, celebrating the Academy Award-winning film.
The photos from the campaign have caused plenty of commotion on the Internet, leaving many fans to swoon after seeing Oscar winner (and sometimes shirtless Calvin Klein model) Mahershala Ali and costar Trevante Rhodes (wearing briefs).
Calvin Klein’s new spring 2017 underwear campaign, honoring the actors of “Moonlight,” the first LGBTQ film to win best picture at the Academy Awards, will run as print and online advertisements and appear on billboards, according to Alex Wagner, Calvin Klein’s vice president of corporate communications. The campaign could broaden visibility and appeal for the indie movie, which was made on a shoestring budget.
In the series of photos, the older actors from “Moonlight” are dressed in what appear to be dark T-shirts and pants as well as in underwear.
The campaign features photos showing Ali as well as actors Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders and, of course, Rhodes (the last smiling and posing in dark-colored briefs in a club chair).
On a side note, the fashion label dressed four “Moonlight” cast members — Naomie Harris in a white strapless sequin dress; and Rhodes, Sanders and Hibbert (who played lead character Chiron at different ages) in tuxedos — for the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood last month.
In a February news release, Raf Simons, Calvin Klein’s new chief creative officer, called the campaign an “acknowledgment of remarkable actors who are revealing something important of being a man today in what they do.”
For decades, Calvin Klein has been known for its provocative advertisements and its assortment of underwear models with Hollywood ties, including Mark Wahlberg, Djimon Hounsou, Justin Bieber, Mehcad Brooks, Kellan Lutz and Antonio Sabato Jr.
According to the fashion label’s news release, the new campaign with the “Moonlight” actors was shot by photographer Willy Vanderperre and styled by Olivier Rizzo.