Calvin Klein Comments on Controversial Brooke Shields Ads from the '80s

"Brooke was the perfect fit -- young and confident with a modern spirit," said Klein, now 80, in a new interview with People. At the time of their initial collaboration, Shields had just started her career with a pair of performances in "Pretty Baby" and "The Blue Lagoon."

The designer recalled wanting to "say something new" for their denim launch. "Our ads, and of course Brooke, became iconic. Who doesn't remember?" added Klein, "Brooke has a fresh, sexy beauty."

The ads caused a lot of controversy because of the suggestive tagline -- "You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing." Also speaking with the publication, Shields, now 57, said she didn't initially understand the iconic slogan ... but has since come to understand the controversy.

"I didn't think of it as, I'm not wearing any underwear," said Shields. "I had a dog, and I would say, 'Nothing comes between me and my puppy.' It was an expression."

Of the criticism, she added, "I can understand it now, where it's coming from. But for some reason, and maybe it's just protection, I'm not mad at it. It afforded me a lot."

She went on to say Klein "could not have been nicer to me. Kinder, sweeter, caring."

The interview comes in conjunction with the model's new documentary, "Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields."

In the doc, she opens up about the sexualization she experienced as a minor while highlighting the "perils and triumphs of gaining agency in a hostile world."

"I'm amazed that I survived any of it," Shields confesses in a trailer for the film, which debuts April 3 on Hulu.