Raf Simons Exits Calvin Klein *Update* Calvin Klein to Exit Collection Business Entirely

[CrisGalaxy]

I never thought I'd read anything like that about Raf! Considering how humble I thought he was... I had read a long time ago an article form Cathy Horyn about how they were eating Coke and Doritos in his apartment or something in Belgium and thought that was super humble and down to earth because that's junk food lol. Can't imagine him doing that now. He was not that well known in the womenswear world when he only did his namesake brand. He was a cult designer even within the menswear world.

Raf Simons the brand then really exploded around the time he was doing Jil Sander, I think, because his work for Jil Sander really captured the brand's DNA so perfectly. I remember people were so obsessed with Raf Simons during Tumblr's heyday. Tumblr's internet impact as a cultural influence platform is so big, its feels wrong to ignore how important it was during the late 00s and early 00s. I think that helped him become even more popular and somehow that snowballed into what Raf Simons is today in the hiphop culture.

 

[YohjiAddict]

In great measure his tumblr success was owed to how mysterious his first few shows were, still to this day it's not easy to find HQ pictures or video but their impact was beyond what anyone could imagine, at the same time as Vanderperre and Rizzo were becoming more well known, the clothing from those seasons kept popping up sporadically in their work which only added to their mysthic. You rarely see retrospectives on magazines, but when Raf Simons turned 20 a few years ago, indies couldn't get enough.

The way in which he distilled youth culture was clearly ahead of the curve. The theatricality and ambition of those shows is still rarely found in menswear.

 

[Benn98]

Calvin Klein to Shutter Flagship, Trim Staff With ‘Go-Forward’ Plan

The brand’s three key initiatives include relaunching Calvin Klein 205W39NYC under a new name, design approach and creative direction.

By Lisa Lockwood on January 10, 2019

In the wake of Raf Simons’ departure as chief creative officer, Calvin Klein plans to relaunch the 205W39NYC collection business under a new name, design approach and creative direction.

It also plans to trim staff and close its historic New York flagship — moves that will tally approximately $120 million in restructuring costs.

Steve Shiffman, chief executive officer of Calvin Klein Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of PVH Corp., revealed his “go forward” plan on Thursday, describing several strategic changes to the brand and organization. It was learned that approximately 100 employees were let go across the entire business, including the flagship.

As reported, Klein and Simons amicably decided to part ways in late December after Klein decided on a new brand direction that differed from Simons’ creative vision. Simons’ three-year contract was set to expire next August.

The new name for its top collection is still under wraps, and the company declined to provide details on the new creative direction and who would be designing the collection. According to Shiffman, the new business will focus on connecting directly to all the other Calvin Klein brands and amplifying each category with its product mix and aspirational experiences. Klein’s historic flagship at 654 Madison Avenue is to go dark this spring. It couldn’t be learned if another PVH or Calvin Klein brand would be taking over the corner space abutting Barneys New York.

The flagship, originally opened in 1995, was reimagined under Simons with a floor-to-ceiling installation by artist Sterling Ruby to showcase the Belgian designer’s 205W39NYC collection. Ruby had transformed the boutique in June 2017 from its minimal design by John Pawson to an otherworldly installation consisting of bright yellow walls, industrial scaffolding and soft, tie-dye fabric sculptures. Real estate sources had indicated last week that Klein had signed a new long-term lease last year for the 18,000-square-foot, three-level store, where it paid $852 per square foot. Klein also said it would be evaluating options for future retail locations and will be unveiling new consumer experiences both online and offline.

Separately on Thursday, PVH said it expects to incur pre-tax costs of approximately $120 million over the next 12 months in connection with the Calvin Klein restructuring, primarily consisting of severance, inventory markdowns and allowances, asset impairments and lease and other contract termination expenses, including the closure of the flagship. Cash outflows related to these pre-tax costs are expected to be approximately $60 million over the next 12 months.

Further, PVH updated its 2018 fourth-quarter and full-year outlook, and said it expects revenue in the fourth quarter and full year 2018 to be at least $2.4 billion and $9.57 billion, respectively, which is above plan. It also revised its projected fourth quarter and full year 2018 earnings per share outlook. The company expects its earnings per share on a non-generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis for the fourth quarter 2018 to be at least $1.75, which is $0.15 per share above the high end of its guidance rate previously announced Nov. 29, 2018. It also expects its full year 2018 earnings per share on a non-GAAP basis to be at least $9.50. The projected fourth quarter and full year earnings per share excludes, among other things, the pre-tax costs expected to be incurred in connection with the Calvin Klein restructuring and the resulting tax effect.

Emanuel Chirico, chairman and chief executive officer of PVH, said, “Our improved 2018 outlook reflects the power of our diversified global business model. Specifically, we are experiencing outperformance across all of our businesses relative to our previous guidance, despite the increasingly volatile macroeconomic and geopolitical environment.”

Another new initiative at Klein is the adoption of a digital-first approach and introduction of a new “consumer marketing organization.” The concept is to accommodate the rapidly changing demands of today’s consumers with highly specialized teams focused on new areas including consumer engagement and shopper experience.

WWD reported last week that Steven Waldberg, former senior director, global communications at Bulgari, has joined Calvin Klein as executive vice president, consumer engagement, a new post. He reports to Marie Gulin-Merle, chief marketing officer at Calvin Klein. Waldberg is responsible for marketing, public relations, communications, social and corporate social responsibility. He takes over some duties formerly handled by Rod Manley, who, as reported, resigned his post as executive vice president, influence marketing and communications, to become chief marketing officer of Burberry, effective Jan. 7.

Waldberg takes over some responsibilities from Michael DeLellis, executive vice president, integrated global marketing, who assumed the new post of executive vice president, strategic marketing initiatives and transformation, also reporting to Gulin-Merle. He is in charge of global up-skilling in digital-first marketing and organizational development. This includes training and educating the teams on skill sets specific to mobile, social, content, data and e-commerce.

Another aspect of the strategic plan is the streamlining of Klein’s North America division to become a more effective organization, including consolidating operations for the men’s Calvin Klein Sportswear and Calvin Klein Jeans business as a means to further strengthen the brand’s positioning. The Calvin Klein retail and e-commerce teams will be integrated to create an omnichannel approach mirroring how consumers browse, shop and purchase today.

“Calvin Klein has long been driven by its ability to balance art and commerce in a culturally relevant way — one that has often defied the status quo. Our industry is witnessing a historic transformation in consumer behavior, which presents a significant growth opportunity as we look to grow the brand to $12 billion in global retail sales over the next few years. Now, more than ever, we must double down on meeting consumer demands by creating culturally relevant products and experiences that engage communities by pushing fashion and culture forward,” Shiffman said.

The executive added that these moves would “enable us to run a more modern, dynamic and effective business, as well as allow us to reinvest in the brand.”

The problems at Calvin Klein came to light last month when Chirico was outspoken on the company’s earnings call about his disappointment in the Calvin Klein Collection — renamed 205W39NYC — and Jeans businesses. He said in rather blunt terms that the reimagined Calvin Klein — under Simons’ direction — was not working. He explained the collection needed to become more commercial and that investments in the collection and advertising would be shifted elsewhere.

“While many of the product categories performed well, we are disappointed by the lack of return on our investments in our Calvin Klein 205W39NYC halo business and believe that some of Calvin Klein Jeans’ relaunched product was too elevated and did not sell through as well as we planned,” Chirico said on that earnings call. Further, Chirico said the redesigned Calvin Klein Jeans was a “fashion miss,” telling investors: “From a product perspective, we went too far, too fast on both fashion and price. We are working on fixing this fashion miss, and we believe that our CK Jeans offering will be much more commercial and fashion-right beginning in 2019, especially for the fall 2019 season.”

Calvin Klein’s earnings before interest and taxes for the third quarter decreased to $121 million, from $142 million a year earlier, “primarily attributable to an approximately $10 million increase in creative and marketing expenditures compared to the prior-year period.” As reported, the company also cited gross margin pressure, principally due to more promotional selling in the Calvin Klein Jeans business, particularly in North America.

WWD.com

 

[perhydrol]

Calvin Klein Set to Hire a New Creative Lead

NEW YORK, United States — Less than a month after announcing the departure of Raf Simons, Calvin Klein is looking for a new creative lead, said a person with knowledge of the business.

Chief executive officer Steve Shiffman said in a separate statement on Thursday that the brand will close its 654 Madison Avenue flagship store, which Simons renovated in 2017, relaunch its ready-to-wear line and consolidate some teams in North America.

Shiffman said the brand will relaunch the 205W39NYC ready-to-wear line under a different name and a new creative direction. He kept the details vague, stating that the business will be "designed to evolve the traditional luxury fashion model by connecting with a diverse range of communities, offering an unexpected mix of influences and moving at an accelerated pace."

Some had speculated after Simons' departure that Calvin Klein would not hire another creative face of the company, but instead take a collaboration approach similar to Moncler's recent strategy. But the search for a new design lead indicates otherwise.

The source with knowledge of the business also said that several of Simons' longtime collaborators have exited the business, specifically Pieter Mulier, creative director, and Matthieu Blazy, the design director of women’s ready-to-wear. Michelle Kessler-Sanders, president of the 2015W39NYC business, will stay on in an executive position.

Shiffman's statement also announced the formation of a new consumer marketing division focused on consumer engagement and shopper experience. According to the source, this department is led by chief marketing officer Marie Gulin-Merle.

Calvin Klein in North America will see further changes: Shiffman said the brand will consolidate the men’s sportswear and the Jeans businesses, and also integrate the retail and e-commerce teams.

"Our industry is witnessing a historic transformation in consumer behavior which presents a significant growth opportunity as we look to grow the brand to $12 billion in global retail sales over the next few years," said Shiffman.

from businessoffashion.com

 

[GivenchyHomme]

No one will miss it.



Bof

 

[dior_couture1245]

Ugh...they really did a number on that poor store.

 

[jeanclaude]

If I worked as a sales assistant at that CK store, I surely would have migraine all day long...that yellow is a total headache!

 

[Lola701]

I kinda liked the idea of the store but the star is not the product. It’s too overwhelming and messy....
It’s not really inviting.

Indeed no one will miss it...

 

[MulletProof]

I surely would have migraine all day long...

I know.. that's such a migraine trigger.

I keep zooming in like maybe if I zoom for the 7th time, it will get better haha

That's pretty bad, almost as bad as the current gigantic figures outside of LV stores (visual pollution to new heights in every aspect) but not nearly as insulting as having the chance to dress freakin' David Hallberg and giving him a Broadway extra getup and then turning up to the event in a hoodie (you're not too cool for the opera, babe, you're just rude and need a long fashion detox).

 

[TaylorBinque]

i remembered they made a big deal out of a "European showroom" in Paris that they spent so much money making it looks so nice, then announced it to the audience, except that it's not open for the public. For me, it's not how you operate a business. You can do all smoke and mirrors that are untouchable. And no wonder why it goes down hill from such a high top so fast.

 

[RaisinBoy]

So not only did not Raf bring home the dough, but his tenure cost a hundred people their job and an iconic site its closure? Wow, just wow.

 

[Lola701]

So not only did not Raf bring home the dough, but his tenure cost a hundred people their job and an iconic site its closure? Wow, just wow.

I think it’s fair to say that it will be a surprise if someone gives him 100% creative control over their brand. It’s really rare to have such an outcome when the suits actually spend money to support the creative direction of a talent.

 

[reesewu]

It's interesting how so many members here back then sounded very hopeful for CK when Raf was appointed but was quickly singing a different tune as soon as he presented his debut collection. I think these people, myself included, expected something like Jil Sander S/S 09, which is so streamlined yet still sensual, out of his CK, but ended up getting a Dior-era Raf, instead. I personally still don't mind his first two collections for CK--mainly because I'm actually a fan of some of his Dior offerings prior to the dreadful S/S 2015-onward--but he quickly went from offering an inspiring, witty yet still stylish take on Americana to serving an egregious caricature of such aesthetic.

 

[dior_couture1245]

It's interesting how so many members here back then sounded very hopeful for CK when Raf was appointed but was quickly singing a different tune as soon as he presented his debut collection. I think these people, myself included, expected something like Jil Sander S/S 09, which is so streamlined yet still sensual, out of his CK, but ended up getting a Dior-era Raf, instead.

It’s clear that the dream that those beloved Jil Sander days were going to make a resurgence at Raf’s Calvin was a pipe dream all along...considering it’s quite obvious now that the mastermind behind those glorious collections was actually Patrick van Ommeslaeghe. Pieter Mulier (and his bf Matthieu Blazy) turned out to be the kiss of death for Raf’s career.

 

[MulletProof]

I see that 'you see it now?! he's awful, I've been telling everyone for years!' quite often in recent years around here. Clothing design is not that different from politics in the fact that it is a journey with an outcome, and you enter that 'journey' with whatever tools (personality, values, academic knowledge) you were lucky to gather, always in a purer state (but some far less equipped than others), and onto a process that is never easier and that will never again allow you the time to cultivate knowledge/values just for the sake of it the way you once did, without a paycheck/prestige/fame/etc in the middle. The outcome is always an eroded, exhausted, 90% less interesting version of yourself, you're drained. But the good thing about creativity and people that are immensely talented as Raf is (you can take your rolling eyes to the vintage area and start digging there, thanks) is that it just needs to recharge and depending on your state, that takes several years at least or sometimes just completely changing the field in which you thought you expressed yourself best.

There's a disconnect with who designers are or can be or who the hell knows. You see people that perhaps have only been exposed to Raf's tenure at Jil Sander in hindsight and selectively (highlights, garments, the way tumblr presents things, not from the seemingly boring beginning as every story should be told), talking about it like it was so flawless... when one of the most interesting parts was seeing him struggle, venturing slowly into certain areas that looked so out of his comfort zone (aka. most of them- he was not a womenswear designer), and learning and gaining confidence and finding his own vocabulary, and that did not take a season, it took years and it was still present at Dior and Dior was such a wrong place for someone that is okay with slowly learning, exploring and experimenting, and CK... is New York.

This whole process was normal among rising designers only 10-20 years ago, there were plenty of them, it was not normal to treat them as things and snatch them as soon as they show potential in order to produce clothes and more clothes maniacally like a factory for a brand they have to learn about (when they could be learning about themselves). When people talk about them like trash because they 'failed to deliver', I seriously just want to put these termites in acid, do you not know? do you not see you enable fashion to be the way it is now?, no one should be designing for these big houses, these big brands that are just in it for the money because their head designer died or retired should have a team, and talented designers should be given all freedom to be themselves and grow, they should not reach 50 hopping from one factory to another and forgetting who they are while desperately knocking the door of every demographic that can afford the bibles they're selling.

Same goes for taking it on his team. A team of people you trust and that are undeniably talented (but working the same awful brothel and exhausted like you) is probably the only thing that keeps you somewhat sane. And they HAVE to leave when he leaves, same for the people that came through them, it's kind of disloyal and.. wrong to look away and stay while the exodus is happening.

 

[Ives927]

Raf needs to drop Pieter asap. He is the common denominator for the failure at Dior and CK (besides Raf himself).

 

[Benn98]

Bridget Foley’s Diary: Calvin Klein and the Downside of Chasing Cool

With Raf Simons gone, Calvin Klein must figure out its next move — and get it right. In the wings: Kevin Carrigan.

By Bridget Foley on January 16, 2019

The European men’s shows are in full-throttle. Ditto, Hollywood awards season, and couture, just around the corner. Yet fashion’s biggest ongoing curiosity is what’s next at Calvin KleinInc. as the brand and its parent PVH Corp. try fervently to erase the effects of their brief, rapturous affair with Raf Simons. The most recent development: the sudden availability of Kevin Carrigan after his departure from Ralph Lauren Corp.

Carrigan is the designer who, for 18 years, held the title of global director at Calvin Klein Inc., with responsibility for CK Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein Jeans and Calvin Klein White Label, always big moneymakers for the brand. Two days after Simons’ appointment at Calvin Klein, Carrigan resigned, though he stayed on long enough to complete several seasons’ worth of collections. He was quickly hired by Ralph Lauren Corp. as senior vice president, creative director of the women’s Lauren and Chaps brands. His departure from that post was reported by WWD exclusively on Monday. The obvious speculation: Is Carrigan headed back to Calvin Klein? While both sides insist there has been zero conversation about a possible return, recent history tells that one should take Calvin Klein denials with a grain of salt, and Carrigan’s departure from Lauren certainly seems more than coincidental. If in fact, talks commence (or continue) he certainly should have a great deal of bargaining power.

Hiring Carrigan back would make all the sense in the world. It could go one of two ways — solo, should execs conclude that a sparkly “halo” designer isn’t necessary to front the brand. (In that camp: G-III Apparel Corp. chief executive officer Morris Goldfarb, whose company produces numerous better-priced Calvin Klein lines to the tune of what market estimates anticipated as $1.2 billion last year.) Or the company could make a dual move, enlisting Carrigan to do what he did before — design the clothes that sell, while a glossier name gets the nod for runway and red carpet. A third approach would be to once again bring in a high-profile creative director, but with less control than Simons had, and, for the money collections, either promote from within or hire someone not as associated with past success as Carrigan, thus eliminating the possibility of a turf war. Whichever way they lean, the Calvin-PVH brass should do some considerable front-end soul-searching.

Another rapturous affair gone bad would prove damaging and embarrassing. Such liaisons are often ill-considered and burdened with the albatross of unrealistic expectations, and the Raf experience checked both boxes. While Simons pushed his design vision to the fullest, and, if rumors are even a little bit accurate, was at times aloof with some previously in-place staff, his cards were on the table and in his contract: full creative control, up, down and sideways, inclusive of all product design as well as advertising, marketing and retail.

That it didn’t work is due, obviously, to the fact that Simons’ fashion didn’t click with the brand’s consumer base with the passion anticipated by the PVH-Calvin brass. But whose fault is that? With the relationship over and both sides moving on, assignation of blame may seem pointless. But for PVH and Calvin Klein — and other behemoths looking to upgrade their sizzle index with a high-profile, highly regarded, ubercool designer — examining the reasons it didn’t work is essential, lest the debacle be repeated. When a major-brand creative director/chief designer position opens up, what is the hiring objective of the brand execs? What do they expect in terms of product and image? Are they looking to retain or broaden their customer base, or to go full-speed-ahead with out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new-and-cool bravado? If the desired social media frenzy happens but sales don’t immediately escalate along with it, how long a window does the designer have? Will the brand be satisfied with anything less than Alessandro Michele out-of-the-gate euphoria? In thinking through such basic questions, one would think that (barring a major ethical debacle) any designer hired would be given at least one full contract period to prove his or her performance. Especially in a case such as this, in which the designer demanded and was given total leeway to shift the brand status-quo to his liking.

At the time of Simons’ hiring, while the parameters seemed extreme, the creative match felt right: famed European minimalist assuming the mantle of iconic American minimalist. The Stateside glee was palpable, both within the Calvin Klein c-suite and well beyond. After Simons’ first season, the American industry breathlessly awarded him dual CFDA Awards, for women’s and men’s, even though according to a strict reading of its rules, he wasn’t eligible for either. But who cared? New York had a real, live European designer in its midst!

In retrospect, the joy over Simons’ arrival ignored a reality that many in fashion, particularly Americans, choose to ignore, even if we’re just kidding ourselves — that of cultural divide. Europe and the U.S. are not on equal footing fashion-wise, period. Maybe Simons was just too Euro-cool to have been given complete creative oversight for what is at its core a mass American brand, the bread-and-butter of which is casual basics — Jeans! Underwear! — marketed from the Seventies get-go as sexy stuff. Simons’ heady, intellectual spin played down the sex quotient with clothes that were interesting but incongruous with consumer expectations. Or at least too incongruous relative to the patience level within PVH/Calvin Klein, which ultimately preferred to cut its losses with eight months remaining on Simons’ contract, sparing niceties along the way.

PVH chairman and ceo Emanuel Chirico’s November earnings call is now the stuff of cautionary legend. He cited disappointment in “the lack of return on our investments in our Calvin Klein 205W39NYC halo business,” and, about Calvin Klein Jeans, said, “From a product perspective, we went too far, too fast on both fashion and price. We are working on fixing this fashion miss.” Kudos for owning up to a mistake. But what does going “too far, too fast on both fashion and price” say about the brand’s apparent big-time misread of its customer base? And about the zeal to hire a highly advanced, luxury-level designer, with virtually no experience at (or documented interest in) the mass-product level?

Given the ongoing Calvin-Raf scuttlebutt that had been around for months and that escalated after the Chirico call, the brand’s press release at 6:17 p.m. on Dec. 21, confirming the “amicable” end to the designer’s tenure after a day of bob-and-weave, came as no surprise. Then, last week, Calvin Klein Inc. ceo Steve Shiffman noted that the brand is actively engaged in its “go-forward” plan. It includes shuttering of the Madison Avenue flagship, opened in 1995 and redone by Sterling Ruby at Simons’ behest as a head-spinning yellow oddity, as well as renaming the Collection business, which Simons rechristened 205W39NYC, in recognition of an address with emotional resonance to almost no one, save perhaps house founders Calvin Klein and Barry Schwartz. (Here’s an idea: How about Calvin Klein Collection?)

While the store and 205W39NYC moves were hardly surprising, some of Shiffman’s “go-forward” comments were, offering curious contradictions. “Calvin Klein has long been driven by its ability to balance art and commerce in a culturally relevant way — one that has often defied the status quo,” he said. No one with a sliver of knowledge of the brand history would argue. But then: “Now, more than ever, we must double down on meeting consumer demands by creating culturally relevant products and experiences that engage communities by pushing fashion and culture forward.” Those two statements are not necessarily in sync with each other, nor with Chirico’s that the company went “too far, too fast on both fashion and price.”

At the heart of that dichotomy: the fierce desire to thrive in business while being perceived as the coolest version of cool, as woke. Like in middle school, only multibillion-dollar corporate. Pushing fashion and the culture forward has become a widely held aspiration for major fashion brands. But is it achievable for most? Is the drive to do so borne of social responsibility, ego or envy of those who genuinely make such an impact? Is it realistic for a company to assume that it can move the culture by sheer force of will and marketing? Conversely, why is there no perceived nobility — and savvy — in the notion of a company merely turning out attractive, well-made merch that people want to buy, wear and look attractive in (not to mention if it helps to push its parent group toward $10 billion in revenue)?

Once upon a time, Calvin Klein the brand did move the cultural needle, but that was largely on the foresight, power and guts of Calvin Klein the man. Seriously impacting the culture via fashion is a near-impossible trait for which to hire — it happens or it doesn’t. Today, the holy-grail example is Michele at Gucci. As a goal, why not shoot for the stars? But as a standard for success, no. In any field, that level of impact has an inexplicable magic to it — an alchemy of personality, talent, the cultural moment and a healthy dose of kismet. The only recent cultural parallel that comes to mind is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Before AOC-loving knickers get all twisted at the thought of a fashion comparison, within his milieu and beyond it, Michele rocked the culture instantly and even profoundly with his stunning debut — a men’s show — that beautifully and boldly addressed the issue of gender identity, a topic then still left-of-center of mainstream conversation. That kind of reaction doesn’t happen on demand. That Michele’s industry-leading luster has lasted a full four years and counting in today’s easily bored reality speaks to his talent. Still, his emergence from nowhere heightened the initial frenzy; it’s unlikely that any designer with a known résumé could similarly stun. It’s called the shock of the new.

That said, hiring “cool” is possible. But today, cool is often a short-lived commodity; once it tempers, as it usually does, a designer must have something more in his or her wheelhouse that speaks to a brand’s ethos. Certainly, in hiring designers, brand ceo’s must consider the cool factor — in this marketing-driven age, who wouldn’t? But they should focus in as well on whether what’s beneath the glossy designer facade — the aesthetic and skill — is right for the customer, or if one or the other can make a speedy enough shift. In the case of Calvin Klein and Raf Simons, the answer was a resounding “no.”

The question now: What’s next for both? Simons will likely focus solely (at least for the foreseeable future) on his eponymous men’s collection, which he’ll show tonight in Paris, albeit from a position of greater comfort than most nine-at-night types. Given that he seems to have acted within the terms of his contract, he’s likely to be paid in full.

For Calvin Klein, the split from Simons is fashion-biblical, with the brand shaking the popcorn from its sandals while moving to erase all things Raf from its reality. As for the identity of its next designer or designers — whomever they might be — only time will tell if they prove fashion messiahs or corporate misfits.

WWD.com

 

[jeanclaude]

So much noise from this brand, to just keep making stupid CK logo t-shirts and underwear...

 

[TYLERB]

Would love to see Narciso Rodriguez in this role..
Bring back minimalism.

 

[perhydrol]

Calvin Klein to Exit Collection Business Entirely

Some 100 people will be let go from the New York and Milan offices.

It’s the end of the “halo” business at Calvin Klein Inc.

After deciding in January to shutter its 205W39NYC business, the renamed high-end designer collection, Calvin Klein said Wednesday that it has decided not to move forward with a traditional collection business at all. As a result, 50 employees in the New York office and 50 people in the Milan office were let go. The company also plans to shutter the Milan office.

As a result, Michelle Kessler-Sanders, president of Calvin Klein 205W39NYC, will be leaving the company, but will stay on through June to help close down that segment of the business. Klein has shipped 205W39NYC for spring.

Steve Shiffman, chief executive officer of Calvin Klein Inc., remains in his position.

Last month reports were circulating in the market that the Milan office would be closed, but at the time a spokeswoman told WWD, “We can confirm that there is a collective dismissal procedure in place for some departments of the Calvin Klein Milan office. The company is working to try to minimize the social impact of this procedure. We know it is a difficult time but we trust in the cooperation of all of those involved to find appropriate solutions for the impacted associates.”

In the wake of Raf Simons’ departure as chief creative officer last December, Calvin Klein had originally said it planned to relaunch the 205W39NYC collection business under a new name, design approach and creative direction. At the same time, it said it planned to close its New York collection flagship store at 654 Madison Avenue. These moves were expected to result in about $120 million in restructuring costs, as noted. About 100 employees were let ago across the entire business, including the flagship, in January.

As reported, Klein and Simons amicably decided to part ways in late December after the company decided on a new brand direction that differed from Simons’ creative vision. Simons’ three-year contract was set to expire in August 2019.

The company still has an active search under way for a fashion director who would oversee the various categories of the brand. That person will work closely with the design and merchandising teams of all product categories.

from wwd