Can you contort your body -- roll upside down onto shoulders and tuck in knees -- while solving a math problem? Then, try it in a pair of super tight, high-waisted jeans.
Such was the talent of then-teenage actress Brooke Shields in a controversial 1980 Calvin Klein jeans campaign shot and directed by photographer Richard Avedon.
The success of the campaign, for both Ms. Shields and the brand, would have been impossible without stage mother Teri Shields, who passed away last week. Their ascent came with the rise of the denim pioneer that , while today would be considered staid, was responsible for introducing the concept of designer jeans to the U.S. market.
Perhaps Ms. Shields' mother had foreseen the career-launching power of Calvin Klein's fearless marketing, which, 10 years later, also catapulted actor Mark (Marky Mark) Wahlberg. Or perhaps she was just a stage mom jumping at another opportunity for her daughter, whom she placed in front of the camera at a mere 11 months old for an Ivory soap commercial. Either way, the campaign series generated major PR buzz for the brand and for the teen actress.