They say odors have more powers of persuasion than words and appearances. How exactly is one of America's most storied fragrance brands seducing us? Fiona Duncan explains.
Obsession was lust. Youth. The unattainable. Kate Moss’ elastic skin against cracked stone. Classical bodies cut off mid-limb at the ad page’s edge (Vogue’s Venus di Milos). Also, all the big Os: orgasms, orgies, and oculi; eyes, eye-round breasts, and, in turn, Bruce Weber and Mario Sorrenti’s lenses. The fragrance’s serif label was often paired with the fine subtext “for men.” On the television spots, a woman’s voice whispered, "Between love and madness lies obsession." The smell was “sensual, woody.” The bottle—a redacted teardrop or short pool. Where there was water, this scent was always shallow. Shallow like a lake from which Kate’s face surfaced, or a Roman bath from which Gemma Ward’s sweet teen bottom buoyed.
The ocean belonged to Eternity and Escape.
Eternity was familial love. A man and his wife. Mother and children. Boundless seas and fresh laundry. The atmosphere was sexy but not rapturous. Eternity’s relations were performed for the public, a class act. The ads evoked candidly-posed wedding portraits or snapshots from a third anniversary vacation abroad on the Côte d’Azur. Hands were clasped, gazes locked. The bottle was squared with a silver turn top, like a lock and eye. It came in two shapes: one taller and broader than the other, more curvilinear, “for men and women.” Christy Turlington was Eternity’s '90s Madonna.
Escape was the whore. His mistress. (Again, “for men.”) In her, for him, passion was reignited. Escape was a vacation—rhythmic shores. Escape was clandestine—Milla Jovovich groped in a hallway. “Take me” was the tagline. The bottle looked more like a boner than any other.
Clothes were rare in Obsession, white in Eternity, and poised to be torn off in Escape. All of the ads were monochrome—black and white, gray scale, or sepia (one exceptional Obsession ad from 1985 is luminously black and blue; it glows like a dark room lit by a television screen).
For Fall 2014, Calvin Klein Collection for men channeled the brand’s iconic fragrances. A logomaniacal sweatshirt trifecta comes in the same neutral tones as the '80s and '90s ads. Obsess over golden-beige tan. Escape to heather brown. Charcoal is eternal. The sweatshirt’s cut is both a throwback and current. Boxy with drop shoulders, fashion only started adopting this recent vintage in the last few years. The collection’s coordinating slacks and shirts are archetypal, sturdy, and refined. Future plain basics, they remind me of Telfar’s “Extremely Normal™” orientation.
This nostalgic collection comes at the same time as a reboot of Calvin Klein’s “fragrance for everyone,” CK One. In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the unisex scent, the brand created a new campaign which was disseminated via Snapchat and
Obsession was lust. Youth. The unattainable. Kate Moss’ elastic skin against cracked stone. Classical bodies cut off mid-limb at the ad page’s edge (Vogue’s Venus di Milos). Also, all the big Os: orgasms, orgies, and oculi; eyes, eye-round breasts, and, in turn, Bruce Weber and Mario Sorrenti’s lenses. The fragrance’s serif label was often paired with the fine subtext “for men.” On the television spots, a woman’s voice whispered, "Between love and madness lies obsession." The smell was “sensual, woody.” The bottle—a redacted teardrop or short pool. Where there was water, this scent was always shallow. Shallow like a lake from which Kate’s face surfaced, or a Roman bath from which Gemma Ward’s sweet teen bottom buoyed.
The ocean belonged to Eternity and Escape.
Eternity was familial love. A man and his wife. Mother and children. Boundless seas and fresh laundry. The atmosphere was sexy but not rapturous. Eternity’s relations were performed for the public, a class act. The ads evoked candidly-posed wedding portraits or snapshots from a third anniversary vacation abroad on the Côte d’Azur. Hands were clasped, gazes locked. The bottle was squared with a silver turn top, like a lock and eye. It came in two shapes: one taller and broader than the other, more curvilinear, “for men and women.” Christy Turlington was Eternity’s '90s Madonna.
Escape was the whore. His mistress. (Again, “for men.”) In her, for him, passion was reignited. Escape was a vacation—rhythmic shores. Escape was clandestine—Milla Jovovich groped in a hallway. “Take me” was the tagline. The bottle looked more like a boner than any other.
Clothes were rare in Obsession, white in Eternity, and poised to be torn off in Escape. All of the ads were monochrome—black and white, gray scale, or sepia (one exceptional Obsession ad from 1985 is luminously black and blue; it glows like a dark room lit by a television screen).
Shot by Mario Sorrenti, CK One's new campaign features Taeyang, Dev Hynes, Samantha Urbani, Kelela, and more.
For Fall 2014, Calvin Klein Collection for men channeled the brand’s iconic fragrances. A logomaniacal sweatshirt trifecta comes in the same neutral tones as the '80s and '90s ads. Obsess over golden-beige tan. Escape to heather brown. Charcoal is eternal. The sweatshirt’s cut is both a throwback and current. Boxy with drop shoulders, fashion only started adopting this recent vintage in the last few years. The collection’s coordinating slacks and shirts are archetypal, sturdy, and refined. Future plain basics, they remind me of Telfar’s “Extremely Normal™” orientation.
This nostalgic collection comes at the same time as a reboot of Calvin Klein’s “fragrance for everyone,” CK One. In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the unisex scent, the brand created a new campaign which was disseminated via Snapchat and