Provocation sells jeans: How Dutch denim brands approach their campaigns

Jeans campaigns have been provocative for decades. Consider the recent campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney for American Eagle, or Calvin Klein in the 80s and 90s. The Netherlands is home to numerous denim brands: how do they attempt to stand out?

This article was written by Sterre Marsman.

The American Eagle campaign with Sydney Sweeney caused quite a stir last year. In “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans”, the actress zips up her American Eagle jeans while explaining in a voice-over that genes are passed down from parents, often determining their children's hair colour, personality and eye colour. “My jeans are blue,” Sweeney then says.

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The online backlash was significant and the media storm seemed endless. Analysis after analysis emerged regarding the problematic nature of the commercial. Controversy arose not only over the sexualisation of a woman to sell jeans but also over the pun on ‘jeans’ and ‘genes’. According to critics, this has racist undertones, as Sweeney is White, blonde and has blue eyes, making it rather inappropriate. The topic was discussed all summer.

Provocation

Provocative jeans advertisements are nothing new. In 1980, Brooke Shields was the face of a Calvin Klein campaign by photographer Richard Avedon. In the commercial, the actress says: “You know what gets between me and my Calvins? Nothing.” Shields was only fifteen years old when the commercial was shot and therefore a minor.

Fifteen years later, Calvin Klein created a provocative campaign in which Kate Moss unbuttons her jeans at the request of a male voice from behind the camera. “Are you nervous?” the voice continues. The commercial was eventually pulled from television due to its associations with exploitation and inappropriate behaviour.

Standing out

The jeans we know today have been worn since the nineteenth century. The fabric, denim, was invented in the sixteenth century. While many variations in style, wash and finish are possible, the core product remains the same. This fact, combined with a globally saturated market, makes it increasingly important and difficult for denim brands to distinguish themselves. This may explain the choice for striking, sometimes provocative commercials. However, it in no way justifies crossing boundaries for media attention.

Dutch denim

The Netherlands has produced a considerable list of major denim brands. G-Star, Denham, Kings of Indigo, Kuyichi and MUD Jeans were all founded in the Netherlands. The market here is also saturated, so the labels have their own strategies for standing out. Dutch Denim generally positions itself as a no-nonsense industry with a focus on quality, craftsmanship and sustainability.

Denham, founded in Amsterdam in 2008 by British jeans maker Jason Denham, primarily communicates craftsmanship, heritage and quality. The slogan “The Truth is in the Details” summarises this philosophy. In a short documentary of the same title, Jason Denham explains what constitutes quality denim, which emphasises the brand's vision of craftsmanship.

Sustainable brands such as Kings of Indigo, Kuyichi and Mud Jeans primarily emphasise their commitment to sustainability in their campaigns. Certified B-Corp MUD Jeans launched its Mud Jeans Global Recycling Week in March this year, allowing customers to return an old pair of jeans for a 15 percent discount on a new pair. Pioneer Kuyichi, founded in 2001, regularly issues a statement around Black Friday to raise awareness of the day's negative impact on sustainability.

G-Star

G-Star regularly launches major campaigns that attract international media attention. This makes the Dutch brand's advertising most comparable to commercials from major American players such as GAP, Calvin Klein and Levi's.

The brand was founded in Amsterdam in 1989 by Jos van Tilburg. G-Star originally started as Gap-Star, but the name was changed as the American brand GAP gained prominence. G-Star achieved international recognition in the 90s with the introduction of raw denim. The jeans are made from unwashed and untreated denim, a conscious choice by G-Star to return to the product's core.

The raw quality of untreated denim has been central to G-Star's communication and campaigns from the beginning. The brand chooses bold collaborations and is not afraid to make a statement.

G-Star has launched some of the most striking campaigns in the Dutch denim industry. As the brand is by far the largest player in the Dutch market, it has significant resources. Pharrell Williams, Snoop Dogg and Max Verstappen have all been the face of G-Star. “Above all, we don't want to end up in the boring middle ground of brands that just tick the right boxes,” said chief marketing officer Gwenda van Vliet to Fiona Hering for an article in Het Parool in 2021.

From monks to a chess champion: four iconic G-Star campaigns

RAW for the Oceans with Pharrell Williams (2014)

In 2014, G-Star RAW launched the long-running “RAW for the Oceans” campaign with Pharrell Williams. G-Star announced the world's first denim collection made partly from recycled ocean plastic. The plastic waste was processed into yarn by Bionic Yarn, an initiative that develops yarn from recycled plastic.

Sustainability was communicated not as an afterthought but as central to the product and the campaign's identity. Pharrell Williams was not only the face of the campaign but also a co-initiator through Bionic Yarn, a company he co-founded.

The collection had a major launch in 2014, including an event at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. An international campaign was shot by photographer Henrik Bülow, with Pharrell Williams as its face. The campaign won D&AD Pencils for Product Design and Creativity for Good.

Habits for the monks of La Trappe (2020)

In 2020, G-Star designed denim habits and scapulars, or aprons, for the brothers of the prior of the Abbey of Our Lady of Koningshoeven in Berkel-Enschot. This was quite a contrast to the collaboration with Pharrell Williams.

According to the La Trappe website, what the monks of the brewery and G-Star share is a love for craftsmanship and a sense of responsibility for sustainability. The G-Star team borrowed a book filled with handwritten texts and habit patterns for inspiration. The process took about a year and a half. The habit is made entirely of Cradle to Cradle-denim.

The campaign consisted of studio photography of the monks in their new workwear and a campaign video. The unexpected collaboration was not widely publicised, yet the project received significant media attention. Video

Chess champion Magnus Carlsen after disqualification (2025)

In 2025, G-Star launched a campaign with Magnus Carlsen. The two had previously collaborated in 2010 when Carlsen was the face of a collection, but this time the partnership had a notable catalyst. During the 2024 World Rapid Chess Championship in New York, Carlsen refused to change his jeans for smarter trousers after being reminded of the strict dress code. Carlsen was subsequently fined and disqualified.

G-Star capitalised on this by making Carlsen the face of their autumn/winter 2025 collection. The campaign, named The King’s Gambit, was photographed by Paul Kooiker. Carlsen's independent attitude is central to the campaign. The jeans he wore during the tournament were later auctioned for charity for more than 36,000 dollars.

The campaign builds on a previous collaboration from 2010, when Carlsen was the face of a campaign photographed by Anton Corbijn. In 2014, a video campaign was released featuring him alongside English actress Lily Cole.

Guerilla show in the Amsterdam metro (2020)

To mark its 30th anniversary, G-Star organised a guerrilla fashion show during Amsterdam Fashion Week in 2020. The campaign was a collaboration with AFW and Amsterdam's public transport operator (GVB).

During a metro ride on the North-South line, models boarded the train among unsuspecting travellers. They were dressed in iconic G-Star items and pieces from the new collection. The event was captured in a campaign video.

“We have been innovating in denim for 30 years, and we wanted to showcase that in a unique way. A guerrilla show in a metro tunnel – that is G-Star RAW,” said CMO Gwenda van Vliet about the campaign.

G-Star's campaigns demonstrate that standing out in the saturated denim world requires courage, creativity and collaborations with notable figures. A partnership with the brothers of the prior of the Abbey of Our Lady was likely unexpected, which is precisely why it garnered so much attention. Campaigns by Dutch denim brands have rarely generated the international media hype seen with Sydney Sweeney for American Eagle. However, the question is whether that is a desirable outcome. Campaigns featuring chess champions and monks also capture attention, yet they remain closer to the familiar Dutch down-to-earth approach.

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