Smells like teen spirit -- again.
Designer Calvin Klein helped define a generation and a genre when the fashion house introduced the fragrance CK One in 1994.
The fresh, clean, citrus scent was designed to suit guys or gals and it was a big hit. This wasn't because unisex fragrances were innovative -- they had been done before -- or even because this particular scent was so great.
Its popularity is more likely attributed to Klein's genius marketing machine which hired photographer Steven Meisel to shoot the sexy advertisements featuring shirtless gender-bending models. Here's one of the Meisel directed television commercials to remind you of how cool this fragrance is:
CK One's popularity endured well into the early 2000s. I remember more than a decade ago, strolling down Canal Street in New York -- the place for knock-off designer merchandise -- and being accosted by a street vendor waving a bottle of CK Uno in my face.
Yes, you read that right. "CK Uno" (uno means one in Spanish, fyi) was written on the bottle and the box. Imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery, I guess.
CK One ultimately became a lifestyle brand in 2010 including denim and color cosmetics, but it seemed to have limited appeal to the youngest generation. So the company is introducing a new spin on its iconic fragrance just for them.
February marks the arrival of CK2, a gender neutral woody scent that promises to satisfy the current generation of cool kids. The fragrance will be available at Macy's starting at $55. The launch comes complete with images shot by another of-the-moment photographer and fellow millennial, Ryan McGinley:
