Pornhub's Asa Akira Stars in a 'Herotica' Fashion Campaign

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The Pornhub ambassador, who has starred in more than 500 adult films won the coveted AVN Female Performer of the Year Award in 2013 (the second Asian person to do so), also stars in the corresponding campaign for the collection. Titled "Herotica," Akira fronts the Cameron Tidball-Sciullo-lensed images alongside models Symone Lu and Yue Yao.

For the Fall 2020 collection, the brand wanted to celebrate Asian communities because of the stereotypes often enforced on them in sex and porn more so than other cultures, according to Li. (He grew up in Germany and was raised by Chinese parents.)

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This translated into silhouettes that were inspired by traditional qipao dresses and infusing them with elements of goth youth, lingerie and racing/motocross. Materials like crystal embroideries, patent PVC and Chinese silk brocades emphasize the women empowerment message the brand has long championed.

"The cosmos of sexual pleasure has been restricted to a few boring and chauvinistic narratives for the pleasure of the male gaze, up until rather recently," said co-founder Nan Li in a statement. "Porn isn't something existentially male, most women just have been previously excluded from determining the narrative."

Creative direction and casting: Betsy Johnson
Photographer: Cameron Tidball-Sciullo
Hair: Charlie lè Mindu
Models: Asa Akira, Symone Lu and Yue Yao
Makeup: Chandrima Deb
Producer: Bryanna Kelly
Creative assistant: Billie O'Neill