New York Fashion Week’s much-awaited debut collection of Raf Simons for Calvin Klein was pitch perfect. The Klein mandate for minimal, seminal and unisex clothes was evident in the 66-piece Autumn-Winter 2017 collection of women’s and menswear.
Simons was named creative director of Calvin Klein last August, giving him creative control over all CK products, from socks to fragrances.
Simons brings a hefty résumé to the table. He has had a very successful eponymous menswear label in the past 20 years. He worked under the Jill Sander label for eight years, and for Christian Dior for four years.
His CK silhouette had a ’90s vibe, echoing the spare and bare designs of Helmut Lang, Martin Margiela and Ann Demeulemeester, especially in the plastic covered fur coat, perhaps a nod to the way people covered their furniture.
The colors were primary, such as school-band colors. There was the American flag as well as quilts as coats or lining for puffer jackets.
The “underboob” cleavage was the new sexy spot—midriff cut was high revealing the lower part of the breasts—in cropped tops or sliced open dresses.
There were masculine tailoring for suits and overcoats; slim trousers with metal-tipped cowboy boots; the right red with the right blue.
Simons tweaked the denim signature style by using the iconic Brooke Shields ad as the back-patch logo.
It was a rebooted, albeit younger, Calvin Klein moment without being too reverential. Simons was evidently, completely in command. —WITH REPORTS FROM THE WIRES
