In the new Calvin Klein campaign, dakota johnson is pictured in a house in Topanga, California—lounging, laughing, and moving through rooms in denim and underwear with a tone she describes as “very chill. ” The images show her in various looks: a bra and panties in a pool, low-rise jeans paired with a high-rise thong, and baggy, ripped jeans worn with an exposed black thong.
What is Dakota Johnson doing in the new Calvin Klein campaign?
Dakota Johnson stars in Calvin Klein’s new denim and underwear campaign, photographed by Gordon von Steiner. The shoot is set in a house in Topanga, California, and centers on a relaxed, lived-in mood—Johnson at home, in jeans, underwear, or both, leaning into an ease that the campaign frames as sensual without being overly staged.
In one scene, she lounges on a pool float in a black Ultralight bra described as lifting and shaping. Other images include Ultralight underwear and baggy, ripped jeans styled with an exposed black thong. Across the set-ups, the campaign leans on a simple premise: denim, underwear, and the attitude of someone comfortable enough to make minimal styling feel complete.
How did Dakota Johnson describe the experience on set?
Johnson recalled a shoot atmosphere built on music and jokes—easygoing enough that she could call it “very chill, ” even as she described walking around “naked essentially, ” with people “avoiding eye contact. ” That mix of humor and professionalism is part of what gives the campaign its particular tension: the camera is close, the clothing is minimal, and the mood is deliberately unbothered.
She also framed the work as matching her present sense of self, saying the moment feels “symbiotic” with where she is in her life. She described feeling calm and centered, spending a lot of time at home, and feeling comfortable in her body. For her, the campaign’s “very laid-back sensuality” wasn’t a performance so much as a reflection of how she feels right now.
What does dakota johnson say about underwear, denim, and feeling good?
Johnson’s comments move away from the idea of “sexy” as a fixed look and toward the idea of “sexy” as a physical and emotional response. She said the sexiest clothing items are the ones that make you feel good in your body, because feeling good changes your energy and physicality. A big, worn-in T-shirt can feel sexier than lingerie on the wrong day; lacy pieces can be empowering, or they can feel completely off. Her point is direct: the sensation matters as much as the silhouette.
That philosophy shows up in how she talks about her day-to-day choices. She described “night in” as her favorite activity, often in underwear, reading or watching movies. She also talked about underwear preferences that shift with use: she likes Calvin boy shorts for sleeping and for bopping around the house in the morning, and she also said she wears very minimal “dental floss underwear, ” appreciating the feeling of wearing nothing at all.
Denim, too, is personal and practical in her telling. She described loving a baggy jean because it “just makes an outfit, ” and shared a styling habit: folding the waistband over rather than wearing a belt to change the fit. When she wants a different feeling, she switches to a high-waisted, tighter jean, noting that the decision can depend on the time of the month—something she said many women can relate to.
Where does FOMO fit into the story?
Even as the visuals are bold, the underlying narrative is surprisingly domestic: comfort, home, and a sense of being centered. In conversation about whether she ever gets FOMO, the tone turns candid rather than performative—less about projecting an always-on lifestyle, more about acknowledging that moods vary and not every day is perfectly styled or perfectly confident.
Within that, the campaign reads as a kind of counterstatement: the “event” is not a red carpet or a loud setting, but a house, a pool float, a game room, and the everyday reality of clothes you can live in. That framing helps explain why the campaign’s most striking element may not be the underwear itself, but the insistence that feeling good is allowed to look quiet.
What happens next—and why this campaign resonates now
Johnson called the campaign her “best gig, ” joking that it checks all her boxes—down to “underwear boxes. ” It’s a punchline, but it also underscores the larger appeal of the images: they present a version of confidence that comes from ease, not from strain.
In the end, the campaign returns to its simplest setting: a person at home, comfortable enough to laugh through the awkwardness of a minimal-wardrobe shoot, and comfortable enough to say that what matters most is how clothing makes you feel. That’s the through-line dakota johnson offers here—less a declaration of perfection than a reminder that style can start with the body you already live in.
