Exclusive: Rina Sawayama Strips It Down For Calvin Klein's Spring 2021 Campaign

The risk-taking pop idol joins a diverse cast that includes names like rapper Megan Thee Stallion and BLM activist Janaya Future Khan.

By Imran Jalal, 7 Mar 2021

If pictures speak a thousand words, then the Spring 2021 campaign that Calvin Klein has just released shows the power of diversity and the message of being yourself – all while dressed in your basics.

Lensed by Mario Sorrenti, the brand's OG collaborator and the man behind that famous shot of Kate Moss Calvin Klein Obsession scent from 1993, the stripped-down, minimalist, black and white imagery features a cast of predominantly black personalities whose works span areas like BLM activism, LGBTQIA movement, the music, and the arts.

Joining the cast is Japan-born, London-based pop musician Rina Sawayama, who has been hailed as the "future of pop" for eschewing outdated norms in music, breaking genre walls, and fusing elements like opera and goth rock in her experimental sound.

Sawayama, who moved to London at the age of five and identifies as a pansexual woman, is also open about her personal struggles with her Asian identity and depression. She told the BBC in an interview last year: "I had a proper identity crisis growing up."

Her debut album Sawayama, which was released last year during the height of the pandemic, has garnered more than 100 million streams worldwide and saw her confronting the issues of race, culture, and sexuality head-on in a brazen and witty manner.

For the Calvin Klein campaign, Sawayama channels her fearless spirit in a series of images that sees her, among others, dressed in a sporty black bralette with briefs and boots or looking nonchalantly cool in a getup of a gender-neutral '90s denim jacket, white triangle bra, and skinny jeans.

Ahead, we showcase the other faces that joined Sawayama for the campaign.