Veronica Leoni is the new creative director of Calvin Klein

Calvin Klein has announced its upcoming return to the runway by appointing Veronica Leoni, former design director of The Row and founder of Quira, as the new creative director. The significant move aims to revitalize the legendary American brand, which has not had a creative director nor organized a show since 2018, when Raf Simons left the position. Leoni's first collection for Calvin Klein will debut for the FW25 season. In a statement, PVH, the brand's owner, described the relaunch of Calvin Klein's premium "Collection" line under Leoni's leadership as a crucial strategic step to reignite interest in the brand.

The relaunch is part of a broader marketing push, which has already generated excitement with a viral advertising campaign featuring actor Jeremy Allen White. Despite the enthusiasm, Calvin Klein has historically struggled to maintain momentum beyond its successful underwear line. Although revenues have grown modestly, the brand has faced challenges due to the decline of department stores and outlets in the US, as well as difficulties in the global premium denim segment. However, with Leoni's diverse experience at Jil Sander, Celine, Moncler, and The Row, there is optimism that she can bring new life to Calvin Klein's runway offerings. The two main “eras” of the brand at New York Fashion Week are held in high regard by industry insiders: both because designer Klein was a pioneer of 90s minimalism, now considered on par with Jil Sander, Helmut Lang, and Miuccia Prada; and because Raf Simons' revival remains one of the brightest, albeit brief, seasons of the past decade.

History of Calvin Klein on the Runway

Calvin Klein FW73

Calvin Klein FW74

Calvin Klein FW74

Calvin Klein SS76

Calvin Klein SS76

Calvin Klein SS87

Calvin Klein SS87

Founded in 1968 by Calvin Klein, the eponymous brand quickly found success with its outerwear and elegant sportswear, defining a unique casual-chic aesthetic in American fashion. Alongside Ralph Lauren and Perry Ellis, Calvin Klein became one of the Big Three in the '90s, brands whose success became a global phenomenon and established not only the autonomous status of American fashion but also its structural differences from European luxury. His designs, which Klein himself described to Vogue in 1975 as "soft, simple, and sexy", were so successful that Klein was nicknamed "the American Yves Saint Laurent" and earned the title of America's most important designer on the cover of Newsweek in 1978. The turning point for the brand came with the launch of the denim line in 1978 and the underwear line in 1982, both marketed through provocative and sometimes controversial advertisements. Notably, the 1980 ad campaign with Brooke Shields for Calvin Klein jeans and the '90s campaigns with Mark Wahlberg and Kate Moss turned a successful brand into a global pop phenomenon.

Calvin Klein SS94

Calvin Klein FW95

Calvin Klein FW95

Calvin Klein FW96

Calvin Klein FW97

Calvin Klein SS98

Calvin Klein FW99

Calvin Klein FW00

Calvin Klein FW01

In the years following the sale of the company to PVH in 2002, which was also the year Klein retired from the scene, Calvin Klein underwent several leadership changes. Brazilian designer Francisco Costa led the women's collection from 2003 to 2016, while Italo Zucchelli directed the men's line from 2004 to 2016. Both designers maintained the brand's minimalist and modernist ethic, updating it for contemporary audiences. During these years, the brand's fashion took a back seat, with jeans, underwear, and fragrances doing the heavy lifting. The brand also had successful diffusion lines, particularly Calvin Klein Sport, which later split into CK Calvin Klein and CK Jeans, whose global success, outside the narrow circle of high fashion, represents a minor revolution, along with CK One and Calvin Klein Underwear fragrances.

In August 2016, the brand appointed Belgian designer Raf Simons as creative director, a title he would hold until December 2018. During these two and a half years, Simons transformed the Calvin Klein runway, particularly with his 2017 collections "By Appointment" and "Calvin Klein 205W39NYC", characterized by strong American inspiration and Simons' signature postmodernism. Critically acclaimed and highly influential, this period saw the brand attract a lot of attention and was praised for bringing back an element of excitement to New York Fashion Week. However, in December 2018, Simons abruptly left the brand following disagreements with PVH's top management and a commercial disappointment due to the excessive alienation of the retail sector. Since then, Calvin Klein's presence at fashion week has been largely limited to advertising campaigns, occasionally starring celebrities like Justin Bieber and Kendall Jenner. These campaigns achieved high visibility but did not convey an innovative spirit or clear image.