Former Calvin Klein Creative Director Defends Kendall Jenner Casting

Calvin Klein, the designer, wasn't shy about sharing his true feelings about Kendall Jenner starring in campaigns for Calvin Klein, the brand. The designer threw some blatant shade at the model during an interview, when he said that he wasn't familiar with her work. He later added that he would have never cast Jenner and criticized other brands for hiring models based on their social media following.

Despite Klein's disapproval, the recently departed women's creative director for Calvin Klein, Francisco Costa, is defending his choice to feature Jenner in the #MyCalvins campaign.

"[Kendall Jenner] really captures the audience,” Costa told Teen Vogue. “She really reflects how we’re living today in this day and age, so I think it’s very good to be associated with her. And we did it so well.”

Costa stepped down from his position, along with men's designer Italo Zuchelli, earlier this year as Calvin Klein makes an attempt to unify its vision under one designer. But, before he left, he rolled out the campaign which featured Jenner and other celebrities like Justin Bieber, Kendrick Lamar, and FKA Twigs.

"I’m so proud of what I’ve done there. It’s been an amazing 13 years," Costa said.

The #MyCalvins campaign is something to be especially proud of. After rolling out the ads in February 2014, it became the brand's most successful digitally driven campaign, according to WWD.

Just over one year after its launch, it bolstered the Calvin Kleins Instagram and Twitter followings by 1.8 million and one million, respectively. Considering Kendall Jenner has over 50 million followers on Instagram and 17 million on Twitter, we're sure being associated with her didn't hurt, even if Klein disagrees.