Calvin Klein models: the faces that defined the brand, 1980 to now

Few brands have shaped the idea of a "model body" as strongly as Calvin Klein. A plain white brief, a pair of jeans and a black and white photograph on a billboard became one of the most copied formulas in fashion advertising. Many Calvin Klein models went on to become actors, musicians or household names, and some of them were unknown until the day their picture went up.

This guide follows the campaigns decade by decade, explains why each one mattered and then turns to the practical side: what casting directors look for in underwear and fragrance models, how a booking works and what to check before you sign. Our profile of Travis Fimmel, the Calvin Klein model who became Ragnar in Vikings, tells his story in more detail.

Why Calvin Klein models matter in fashion history

Before the 1980s, underwear was sold in packets with drawings or anonymous catalogue photos. Calvin Klein put it on the same footing as perfume and evening wear: shot by star photographers such as Richard Avedon, Bruce Weber, Herb Ritts, Steven Klein and Mario Sorrenti, printed large and placed where millions of people would see it. The male body in particular became a subject of fashion photography in a way it had not been before.

For models this changed the market. An underwear or fragrance contract with a global brand became one of the best paid jobs in the industry, and male models for the first time could become as recognisable as the women they worked with. The same formula still drives casting today, now with a strong pull towards actors and musicians who bring their own audience.

The 1980s: Brooke Shields and the first underwear billboard

Brooke Shields, 1980. Fifteen-year-old Brooke Shields starred in a series of television spots for Calvin Klein Jeans directed by Richard Avedon. The line "You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing" became one of the most quoted slogans in advertising. Some TV stations refused to air the spots, and Shields later told Vogue that she was away when she began hearing that the commercials were being banned.

Tom Hintnaus, 1982. The first Calvin Klein underwear star was not a professional model but an Olympic pole vaulter. Bruce Weber photographed him in white briefs against a white wall on the Greek island of Santorini. The picture went up on a billboard in Times Square, and Artforum later wrote that it made Weber the most visible image-maker of the decade. A print of the photograph is now in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Christy Turlington, 1988. The supermodel signed an exclusive contract as the face of Eternity, the brand's new fragrance. The campaign became so closely linked to her that Calvin Klein brought her back in 2022, together with actor and director Edward Burns, more than thirty years after her first Eternity pictures.

The 1990s: Mark Wahlberg, Kate Moss and the minimal look

Mark Wahlberg and Kate Moss, 1992. The most famous Calvin Klein underwear ad of all time paired the rapper then known as Marky Mark with a seventeen-year-old Kate Moss. Herb Ritts shot them in black and white for underwear and jeans, and the images defined the stripped-back look of the early 1990s. Wahlberg went on to a film career, and Moss became the face of the brand for most of the decade.

Antonio Sabato Jr. In the mid-1990s the Italian-born actor appeared on a giant Calvin Klein underwear billboard in Times Square. The New York Times later described it as a 90-foot-tall picture. Like Hintnaus before him, his name became shorthand for the "Calvin Klein underwear guy".

The 1990s also made the term "Calvin Klein models" a search category of its own: people looking up 90s Calvin Klein models today are mostly looking for the Moss and Wahlberg pictures.

2002: Travis Fimmel, the exclusive Calvin Klein male model

Travis Fimmel grew up on a cattle farm in Victoria, Australia, and planned a career in Australian rules football until a broken leg ended it. A scout spotted him at a gym in Melbourne, and soon after he arrived in Los Angeles and signed with an agency there. Calvin Klein himself picked him out of a stack of Polaroids. In an interview with designer Tom Ford he recalled asking "Who is he?" and calling photographer Steven Klein to shoot him in underwear against a window the next day.

In 2002 Fimmel signed a deal reported as six figures to model exclusively for Calvin Klein for a year. Wikipedia, citing Australian press, describes it as the first such exclusive deal for a male model with the brand. He fronted the CK Crave men's fragrance and the underwear line, and in March 2002 a billboard of him went up on Tottenham Court Road in London, where he was presented as the first new male face of Calvin Klein underwear in two years. People magazine put him on its list of the sexiest bachelors the same year.

That is why searches for Travis Fimmel Calvin Klein and Travis Fimmel young still bring up those early pictures. He soon moved into acting, studied with coach Ivana Chubbuck, played the title role in the 2003 series Tarzan and found global fame ten years later as Ragnar Lothbrok in Vikings. The full list of his roles is in our guide to Travis Fimmel movies and TV shows, and the profile Travis Fimmel: from Calvin Klein model to Ragnar covers his life and modelling years.

2007 to 2014: new faces and the size debate

Djimon Hounsou, 2007. The Benin-born actor, who started as a model in Paris and was photographed by Herb Ritts in the early 1990s, fronted a Calvin Klein underwear campaign in 2007. People searching for Calvin Klein black models often mean this campaign.

Myla Dalbesio, 2014. When the brand cast Dalbesio, a US size 10, for its Perfectly Fit lingerie line, a media debate started over whether she was a "plus-size" model. The New York Times pointed out that Calvin Klein had never called her plus-size. The episode showed how narrow the industry's size range still was. Our guide to what is considered plus size explains the categories agencies use.

2015 to today: celebrities and #MyCalvins

From 2015 the brand leaned on people with huge social media audiences. Justin Bieber and Dutch model Lara Stone fronted the spring 2015 jeans and underwear campaign, which was parodied on Saturday Night Live. Kendall Jenner joined the #MyCalvins campaign the same year, and fans were invited to post their own pictures in Calvin Klein underwear with the hashtag.

In 2023 the brand named Jung Kook of BTS a global ambassador. In January 2024 actor Jeremy Allen White, known for The Bear, debuted in an underwear campaign shot by Mert Alas in New York. According to WWD the campaign generated media impact value of 12.7 million dollars within days. These are celebrity contracts, not model castings, and they are why many people searching for Calvin Klein new models find actors and musicians rather than agency newcomers.

Famous Calvin Klein models at a glance

Many of these names also appear in our list of the highest-paid models and in the guide to male models, which covers the wider market beyond one brand.

What it takes to become an underwear or fragrance model

Underwear and fragrance campaigns are among the hardest jobs to book, because the product leaves nowhere to hide and the image runs for months or years. Casting directors usually look for:

• A face that holds a close-up. Fragrance pictures are often cropped to the face and shoulders, so bone structure, skin and expression matter more than height.
• Proportions that fit the sample. Men's underwear samples are cut for a slim, athletic build; agencies list chest, waist and inseam on the comp card so clients can check the fit before a casting.
• Natural, healthy skin. Close-ups of skin are the point of the picture, so agencies advise models to keep a simple routine and avoid tan lines before a casting.
• Something recognisable. In the last decade a following, an acting role or a sports career has often counted as much as the look.
• Professional ease with little clothing. An underwear shoot is still a fashion job with a brief, a stylist and a closed set, and agencies prepare models for it.

There is no "Calvin Klein models application" form for the public. Brands do not sign unknown people directly; they ask agencies for packages of models, so the realistic route is to get signed first. Our step-by-step guide how to become a model explains how, and a clean composite card with correct measurements is the document a casting director sees first. If you want to be scouted, start with an agency that runs open calls, such as the Supermodels open call.

How a campaign booking works

A global campaign follows the same steps whether the face is a newcomer or a film star. The brand writes a brief, a casting director asks agencies for suggestions, shortlisted models attend a casting or send a self-tape, the agency puts the dates on option, and only then are the fee and terms agreed.

The contract stage is where the money is decided. A campaign fee is made up of the day rate for the shoot plus a usage fee that depends on where the images run (print, outdoor, online, TV), in which countries and for how long. Exclusivity, meaning that the model may not work for competing brands during the term, is paid on top, which is why Fimmel's year-long exclusive was news. Our guides to the modeling contract and usage rights explain each clause.

How much do Calvin Klein models make?

Calvin Klein does not publish model fees, and individual contracts are confidential. The few public numbers come from press reports, such as the six-figure sum reported for Fimmel's 2002 exclusive deal. Campaign fees vary enormously with usage: a single-season online campaign for one market pays a fraction of a worldwide multi-year contract with billboards and TV.

For a newcomer the honest answer is that a first underwear or fragrance booking with a major brand usually pays well above an editorial, but the big figures go to established names. Our article how much do models make breaks down day rates, campaign fees and agency commission, and shows what the model takes home.

Frequently asked questions

Who was the first Calvin Klein underwear model?

Olympic pole vaulter Tom Hintnaus, photographed by Bruce Weber in 1982. His picture in white briefs went up on a billboard in Times Square and is often called the first modern men's underwear ad.

Was Travis Fimmel a Calvin Klein model?

Yes. In 2002 he signed a year-long exclusive contract reported as six figures, fronted the CK Crave fragrance and the underwear line, and appeared on billboards in the US and Europe before turning to acting. Read more in our Travis Fimmel profile.

Who are the most famous Calvin Klein male models?

Tom Hintnaus, Mark Wahlberg, Antonio Sabato Jr., Travis Fimmel and Djimon Hounsou from the classic era, and Justin Bieber, Jung Kook and Jeremy Allen White among recent faces.

Who were the 90s Calvin Klein models?

Kate Moss and Mark Wahlberg above all, photographed by Herb Ritts in 1992, together with Christy Turlington for Eternity and Antonio Sabato Jr. on the Times Square underwear billboard.

Can I apply to be a Calvin Klein model?

Not directly. The brand books models through agencies and casting directors. Get signed with a reputable agency first, keep your digitals and comp card up to date, and your agent will submit you when a suitable casting comes up.

How much does a Calvin Klein model earn?

The brand does not publish fees. Pay depends on usage, territory, term and exclusivity; a worldwide exclusive contract can reach six figures or more, while a one-market online campaign pays far less.