In 2011, then 17-year-old Cameron Dallas tweeted “I want to be a Calvin Klein model.” In 2016, that dream was realized.
During the interim four years, the Vine star went from SoCal high schooler to international heartthrob (both he and model Lucky Blue Smith drew a mob of fans at Milan Fashion Week), gaining 8.1 million Instagram followers in the process. And, along with the rest of the Gen Z population, Calvin Klein took notice.
The fashion brand cast the now 21-year-old “Internet personality” as well as Riccardo Tisci muse Stella Lucia in its new campaign for a 2016 denim capsule collection, which consists of streetwear-inspired pieces emblazoned with Calvin Klein’s tone-on-tone logo.
The sun-drenched kids were photographed on the beautiful beaches of Malibu by Jack Pierson, looking like extras in The O.C. with their tousled locks, bronzed skin and all-white ensembles. The logo-heavy product is part of a wave of collections targeting the Gen Z consumer, including the denim and underwear collections for which Calvin Klein tapped the likes of Kendall Jenner and Justin Bieber to promote.
The campaign’s release, however, comes at an interesting time. Just last week, Fashionista reported that Calvin Klein (the designer) admitted that he didn’t necessarily find the idea of casting a social media star as sustainable. “Now, models are paid for how many followers they have,” he said while speaking with Fern Mallis in New York. “They’re booked not because they represent the essence of the designer, which is what I tried to do — they’re booked because of how many followers they have online. I don’t think that, long-term, is going to work. I don’t think that’s a great formula for success for the product you’re trying to sell.”
As for his answer to the fill-in-the-blank campaign catchphrase, Dallas borrowed a move from the Biebs himself, writing, “I ‘Cameron’ in #mycalvins.”
Check Out Cameron Dallas Periscope Interview With Calvin Klein
Source: Hollywood Reporter
