If there’s a message that rang loud and clear this 2015, it’s that gender is fluid, and that self-actualization is a key step towards self-acceptance. Whether society has accepted this to the point that it’s okay to make fun of it (case in point: Benedict Cumberbatch’s controvesial role as non-binary model All in Zoolander 2), remains to be seen.
Calvin Klein seems to have paid attention and has capitalized on that message with their newest fragrance CK2, which also claims the title of being the industry’s first “genderless” fragrance.
Sure, cult boutique fragrance brands like Byredo, La Labo, and Maison Francis Kurkdjian have long done away with branding their perfumes as “feminine” or “masculine,” preferring instead for customers to buy scents they are drawn to, regardless of gender. But they also probably don’t have Calvin Klein’s marketing and research team that came up with the idea of evolving the idea of “unisex” fragrances, and labeling them as “genderless” instead.
Before you scoff at the notion of a department store fragrance, Elle described the new scent as a combination of “wasabi, wet cobblestones, and ‘magnetic woods blends,’” having detected “‘floral notes’ along with hints of Japanese horseradish.” You have to admit: that’s pretty intriguing.
And since the concept of gender fluidity is most embraced by the progressive youths of today, the CK2 campaign features wily and aloof models like Victoria Brito, Sung Jin Park, and Luka Sabbat. Of course, a concept like that can only be lensed by photographer Ryan McGinley, who shot to fame with his honest and intimate portrait of teenagers.
The accompanying video features all the shenanigans of the young: jumping fully clothes into the ocean, flashing cars as they race down the highway, stuffing their hands down the back pockets of each others’ jeans at a bonfire. The only difference this time is that prom kings and queens have more ease with swapping roles.
Watch the full video below:
Photo courtesy of Calvin Klein