For fifty bucks, you can now pick up a Marc Jacobs t-shirt featuring a collaboration between Miley Cyrus and Marilyn Minter. What’s more, proceeds will benefit Planned Parenthood, which offers sexual and reproductive health services for women.
The images on the two t-shirts, shot by Minter, show the singer behind a steamy pane of glass. In the first, Cyrus, largely obscured by steam, has traced the words “pro choice” and a heart in the fog, and plants a big pink kiss on the glass, her lips forming the “O” in “choice.” The second shows Cyrus licking the window pane.
In a phone interview, with artnet News Minter noted that many brands would avoid such messages for fear of a boycott, but said that “people are starting to make noise!”
The shots resulted from a March portrait shoot to support Planned Parenthood. One of the photos, a comparatively angelic image, has been released as a $5,500 limited-edition print, announced at the organization’s annual spring luncheon.
Marilyn Minter, Pro-Choice Miley (2016). Courtesy Planned Parenthood.
“The t-shirt project came about accidentally; I was shooting for a portrait,” Minter told artnet News in a phone conversation. It was her dealer, Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn of New York’s Salon 94 gallery, who suggested creating a shirt as well, to help young people get involved. Her team approached Marc Jacobs, who threw together a mock-up design in only four or five days.
“I don’t know how to do fashion at all,” Minter admitted, noting that the t-shirts designs were “just from the outtakes” from the original photo shoot. The t-shirts aren’t the end of Minter’s and Cyrus’s efforts, the artist said.
Marilyn Minter, Miley (2016). Courtesy of Planned Parenthood.
“We have a secret plan,” Minter said, hinting at participatory project that will be unveiled in June, timed to the Supreme Court’s decision on Whole Woman’s Health V. Hellerstedt, a case over legal restrictions that Texas has imposed on abortion providers. Minter assured us that “word will get out really quickly.”
At last month’s luncheon, Minter revealed that she had taken additional photos of Cyrus dressed in accessories crafted by the two women and featuring the Planned Parenthood logo. The props were made in the style of the pop star’s surprisingly well-received assemblage works, colorful sculptures inspired by glittery, furry, and otherwise kitschy items she receives from fans during concerts.
“Planned Parenthood of New York City is so grateful to have the support and partnership of fearless creative individuals, such as Marc, Miley, and Marilyn,” said Joan Malin, president and CEO Planned Parenthood of New York, in a statement. “We are excited to raise awareness, enthusiasm, and funding for the essential sexual health care services and education we provide, and for individuals to have the opportunity to wear the support on their sleeves, literally.”