Kinky Calvin

New Yorkers are making a big stink about the racey Calvin Klein Jeans ad on Houston and Lafayette. It's basically a still shot taken from their too-hot-for-TV ad campaign shot by Steven Meisel. And yet, the billboard has been there for a while Klein is a bone fide purveyor of racy ads. The big names at Calvin Klein couldn't be happier. Menswear designer Italo Zucchelli agrees, "I think it is a fantastic campaign. That is what Calvin Klein Jeans is supposed to be. Everyone needs to be scandalized and screaming. That is what we want." Head of womanswear Francisco Costa says -- most likely with a hair toss -- “Please! It’s so, like, old news. Don’t you think we should be a little ashamed for even having to discuss? I mean, it’s great for us. So if you want to talk about it, let’s talk about it. But there was no intention of making that controversial. Just make beautiful ads. And they’re beautiful ads. And I think, you know, we’re such a forward society, but we tend to be a little prudish sometimes. It’s New York City! It’s the 21st century! Honey, we have to move on! We have to move on.” And even if a few sticks in the mud aren't moving on, they'd better get used to the hot-spot on Houston, because CK just released the F/W underwear ad that will replace the current threesome in a couple of months:

Enough said.

via The Cut and WWD

BEHOLD

The newest David Beckham for Armani underwear ad. Not surprisingly, it caused mass hysteria in London today when it was unveiled at Selfridge's. 

Quickies: Bruno's (First) Lawsuit, Michael Bastian's Shorts, Karl Voices Cartoon, +

Surprise, surprise: Sascha Baron Cohen is being sued by a woman who says she was traumatized by his fashion frenzy alter-ego, Bruno. [Vulture] 

Michael Bastian, a now favored menswear designer, can't afford his own $540 shorts. [NYT]

Karl Lagerfeld will lend his voice to a cartoon villain, Fabu, in the french animated movie, Totally Spies. [Hollywood Reporter]

Kris Van Assche played art director for the newly launched, Londerzeel magazine. [WWD]

Gay men love underwear. But not these. [lemondrop] 

Quickies: Project Runway Debut, FiFi Winners, Anal Jewelry, +

Will Ferrell is launching a line of...sunscreen. Goofy? Incredibly. But all the proceeds go towards a charity that gives college scholarships to cancer survivors and amputees. Says Ferrell of the launch: "I've always dreamed of owning a lotion company. And I've always hated cancer." [People Style Watch]

Despite its move to Lifetime, Project Runway, which airs in August, is largely still the same show it was on Bravo. Apparently to Heidi Klum's disapproval. Sheisse! [EW] via [The Cut] 

Before helming one of the most recognizable labels in fashion, Miuccia Prada went to mime school for six years. Six years to become a mime? Seriously? [The Cut] 

Donatella Versace: "I think sex is part of life, like eating and breathing." [Interview]

The FiFi Awards honored P Diddy's I Am King as luxe fragrance of the year for the second year in a row. Insert quip here. [WWD]

According to Alan Greenspan, men's underwear sales are a good test of the resilience -- or lack thereof -- of the economy. [Economist] 

Arnold Schwarzenegger's most memorable fashion moments. The cat suit in Running Man was so fetch.  [Refinery 29] 

Anal jewelry. Enough said. [The Frisky] 

The New Guess Underwear Ad Campaign

Men in (White) Tights

As if tighty whities needed a PSA for gay men's approval. McKenzie James shot this stark, compelling photo spread for fantasticsmag. The tag line: "Because boxers are so junior high."

-- Seth Plattner

Can We Pink Underwear Our Way Out Of Recession

Underwear brand Jockey is claiming to have seen a 60% jump in the sale of their Y-front colored briefs, with baby pink leading the pack with a 62% sales spike. While a correlation could be made between these increases and those of Skittled-skivvies pioneers American Apparel, Jockey is claiming that men are responding similar to lipstick economics. In other words, buying colorful items to perk them up. This, they say, mimics what happened during the great depression when men started opting for Jockey's boxer shorts printed with an image of the globe over a normal white pair.

"When the economy’s gloomy, shoppers tend to make small, often unconscious, decisions in their consumer habits," said Ruth Stevens, brand manager at Jockey Underwear. "Men may feel out of control during the recession so they make small choices which may lighten their mood and one of these is evidently choosing brighter underwear." 

-- Seth Plattner

Acne Jumps For Joy

Boys in underwear? Great. Boys jumping on a trampoline in underwear? Even better. That's the concept behind this "creative film installation" (Acne's words) by British film maker Richard Brandon Cox for Acne's Spring/Summer 09 underwear campaign which showcases undies, socks and sleep wear garments all from Stockholm's beloved label. 

Start your Tuesday with the new David Beckham Armani Underwear Ads

Fresh off his loan (and possible permanent move?) to AC Milan from L.A. Galaxy, David Beckham is back in his undies for another notable Italian brand, Emporio Armani. He set tongues a-wagging with his last batch of photos, and the new teasers from his next crop of ads are just as sexy and just as tongue-wagging-worthy. [via People.com]

-- SETH PLATTNER

Previously > More Beckham for Armani Underwear

Quickies: What Obama wore, who's wearing Obama, Julia Roberts & Armani against AIDS, and more

Photo: Getty Images

Wondering who made Barack Obama's impeccable bespoke suit he wore during his killer speech at the DNC last night? In a move of socio-conscious fashion and style, Obama chose to wear Hartmax Corp label Hart Schaffner Marx, which only employs union workers. [The Cut]

Union workers weren't the only ones to get Obama's support; he also generously lent his pretty-little-face to a pair of Andrew Christian underwear. To help move the masses, Christian also set up a photo shoot with some of daytime TV's sexiest stars, all in Obama-faced undies. Can we see ourselves in a pair? Yes, we can. [Towleroad]

At it again are Julia Roberts and Giorgio Armani, this time in the fight against AIDS. Roberts designed a limited edition t-shirt for the label that will sell for $145, with 40 percent of the gross profit margin going to The Global Fund, which finances AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria programs in Africa. $145 might seem steep for a t-shirt, but we'd say the benefits are well worth it. [WWD]

The trade shows are underway in Las Vegas, which means we're on trend watch.  One of the most prominent? The Japanese obsession with American workwear.  First karaoke...now this?! [Material Interest]

Eh, it's not the first place we'd go for fashion advice, but, being that we're of the open minded community, we might take a look at Playboy's new men's fashion advice section on Playboy.com. Clothed straight men are better than the other alternative offered on the site, no? [WWD]

-- SETH PLATTNER