Calvin Klein Is a Luxury Label Again
Veronica Leoni was probably the perfect person for the job. Calvin Klein, one of the last remaining New York fashion titans, was looking to relaunch its top-tier Calvin Klein Collection line. Leoni, whose QUIRA imprint was up for the LVMH Prize in 2023, has an impressive resume that includes pretty much every major maker of what some folks still call "quiet luxury."
Quoth Avril Lavigne: could I make it any more obvious?
Under the creative direction of Veronica Leoni, Calvin Klein Collection returned during New York Fashion Week on February 7 with Alexander Skarsgård, Kate Moss, and an 82-years-young Calvin Klein in attendance, hearkening back to Calvin Klein's '90s heyday, when it was unchallenged in its dominance of fashion's commercial and luxury spheres.
Not that the label was ever not a big-time industry player — its signature underwear and denim remain as massive as its mighty SoHo billboard — but the stretch between Raf Simons departing as Calvin overseer in 2018 and current day has only been demarcated by Calvin's (admittedly huge) celebrity campaigns.
Partnerships with cultural figures like Heron Preston and Willy Chavarria were bright spots, to be sure, but never really snagged Calvin any major fashion platitudes, perhaps because most of the garments that resulted were more staple than statement.
No shame in that — a mastery of wardrobe building blocks is what made Calvin Klein a household name.
But Calvin Klein Collection was always something more. Quietly discontinued in 2019, it was Calvin Klein's most luxurious offering, the epitome of that modern New York minimalism spurned by designers like Geoffrey Beene and Helmut Lang. CK Collection signatures included slip dresses, leather blazers, and menswear-style jackets, all made in Italy and all informed by uncomplicatedly clean lines.
It was a line out of time by the late '10s, as old-money tastes were outpaced by streetwear fervor (this was prime Balenciaga era, for instance). But, now, the stage is set for a major CK Collection revival.
The recent attempt to bring back the glory days of Helmut Lang ended rather unfortunately, however. What makes Calvin Klein Collection different?
Veronica Leoni, perhaps.
Leoni is a workaday Italian designer whose previous jobs read like a who's-who of post-CK Collection labels: Jil Sander, The Row, Phoebe Philo's Céline, Moncler's understated 2 Moncler 1952.
As, such. she's almost too perfect a hire for CK Collection, which kicked off with the first CK runway show since the Raf Simons era.
This renewed CK Collection is akin to getting a Brooklyn slice from a Michelin-starred Italian joint: Exquisite, delicious comfort food, Italy by way of New York. Draped shirting, tailoring on tailoring on tailoring, and Kendall Jenner in a knee-length overcoat and snub-nosed slingbacks. Wall Street if it had drip.
A no-nonsense neutral palette heavy on dark tones, so understated that you might've missed the quiet subversion of a few old favorites — blazers sans lapel, mock-neck shirt dresses with sleeves cropped to the wrist.
Grounded but hardly boring. Way too many wool capes, masterpiece leather jackets, and draping pajama-style sets to be boring. One wool coat was so perfectly structured, so textured and shapely, that it could've been sculpted by Beuys.
The quintessential item? Gotta be the jeans, the epochal Calvin Klein item. Here, they're straight-legged, sometimes washed-out, and worn with crisp staples over beefy square-toed loafers. It's like the '90s never ended.
