Raf Simons Named Chief Creative Officer of Calvin Klein

[Benn98]

It's official!!

Raf Simons Starts at Calvin Klein, Marking Strategic Shift

https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/raf-simons-calvin-klein-pvh?utm_source=Subscribers&utm_campaign=0075d7f33b-&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d2191372b3-0075d7f33b-417355313

 

[eugenius]

^Well, at least they used a better picture of him than that awful pic w/ him and the black & white flowerbed around his face.

This makes more sense to me than his appointment at Jil Sander, which kind of made sense to me, and Dior, which made zero sense to me.

I still wish he'd say focus all his time, heart, and soul into his own line, though. I think he was on a roll w/ his own menswear line since he left Dior, but I have a feeling it's going to return to being a sad imitation of it's former self.

 

[Benn98]

^Well, at least they used a better picture of him than that awful pic w/ him and the black & white flowerbed around his face.

God, I saw that!! Actually thought it was the conceited author who penned that piece. Thanks for clearing that up!

 

[anlabe32]

I'm sooooo happy about this! Cannot wait.

Going to read the article now.

 

[Nymphaea]

Well, no surprise. Curious for the results.

 

[Alto]

Really excited to see how he will bring all those labels under one direction. Is he going to travel to New York weekly or is the studio going to be in Europe?

 

[Scotty]

Oh. I thought his debut would be S/S 17. The fall season is ages away!

 

[RedSmokeRise]

Finally. Congrats Raf!

Hope he puts an end to the #mycalvins nonsense though.

 

[Lola701]

"Under this new arrangement, the designer will have complete creative control over everything from brand imagery — including underwear and fragrance campaigns — to diffusion lines and home goods"

"If Calvin Klein is indeed going to put more emphasis on Collection — and pay Simons a reported salary of $18 million a year —"

He has the best he could ask. I'm happy for him and i'm happy for the next chapter of Calvin Klein.
I finally can have hopes on his work again.

Fall 2017 is good. They'll have Prefall 2017 and Menswear to introduce their vision to the company and the retailers and the runway show will be the big event to introduce the new Calvin to the world.

Seriously, maybe i'm going too far but i think Raf showing at NYFW can have the same impact as Helmut Lang had in the 90's. It will bring another energy to the city and above all, those NYC designers will have someone new to copy from.

Finally, the kids will be able to afford Raf's vision.

 

[TaylorBinque]

The best news yet. I feel like he has so much to handle but at the same time he is freely to control the creative direction which everything is under his hands and that's going to be very different from his tenure at Dior.

I can't wait to see his magic again. His Jil Sanders collections would still beat some of those non-sense on today's runway. NYFC is finally very excited again.

 

[liberty33r1b]

CANNOT WAIT!!!

 

[mikose]

I hope his ck ad will be good.Under his time,dior ad was awfull.Only rihana's ad were good.I wonder rihanna will be the face of new ck.
She is only star who alway look good with his desginer.

 

[Lola701]

I hope his ck ad will be good.Under his time,dior ad was awfull.Only rihana's ad were good.I wonder rihanna will be the face of new ck.
She is only star who alway look good with his desginer.

Rihanna was an executive choice. I doubt she will be one of Calvin's face but she will wear his clothes.

I expect a lot of Leelee Sobieski and Tilda.

 

[perhydrol]

I hope this won't become another Dior disaster since it's really too much to handle IMHO. But at the same time it's Pieter who will translate Raf's ideas into actual collections... All I can say now is I don't know what to expect from them.

 

[fashionista-ta]

There have been so many disappointing appointments lately ... finally a really good one, and a talented designer who deserves exactly what he's getting.

 

[MulletProof]

For what it's worth, I liked what Costa did, he was bashed every season but it was always so sleek and calming to look at, I think he leaves a good legacy for Raf to explore, also no wild egos or dramatic tension..

I don't think it will be a disaster, probably more on the lines of his own label and what he did at JS. The worst has already happened to Raf, who seemed to struggle a lot to design womenswear and experimented at it on a huge platform, and then had all the pressure of an old Parisian house. While I find weird that he would choose to show in New York as his next move, I think the US is generally more efficient and not that wildly hierarchic or bureaucratic, so it will be easier for him to get what he wants done.

 

[george5]

First He complains about too much work to do and not enough time to develop ideas and now He's in charge of the whole package (and the fact that Calvin Klein is a minimalist brand is not a proper excuse; Not to me, at least)

Lord, have some mercy with this man...

 

[dodencebt]

I think before we start bashing Raf for being a hypocrite it's very important for us to make the distinction that his title is Chief Creative Officer, while Pieter Mulier is the Creative Director and the one designing the actual collections and accessories. In other words, Simons will be in charge of the larger picture without having to focus on minor details and day-to-day struggles of designing. It may not be that different for outsiders but it's a big change from the description of his position at Dior; perhaps he'll thrive in this role.

 

[Lola701]

^^
Let's not forget that he will be very celebrate in the US. We are more tough in Paris.
I doubt that we'll see any major criticism toward his work or anything at NYC. The pressure is lower if almost non-existent for him there.

He did say that he took the Dior job to prove that he can be commercial. Ther he is!
Him complaining about working for a house like Dior was childish but i think that this is a totally different situation.

Now, he is in control. He has the total creative control over the 2nd most important american brand in the world, with a huge salary. He will not have to ask to Mr Arnault for every decisions he makes or wait for his premiere d'atelier to comeback from a fitting abroad to be able to continue to work on a collection.

At Jil Sander, he was responsible for Mens & Womenswear and he added the Jil Sander Navy line. He can handle it!

And let's no forget that he is not a Nicolas Ghesquiere, Riccardo Tisci or even Karl's type of designer. He will have his army of designers that will design according to his direction and he will select from it.

 

[mikose]

"Under this new arrangement, the designer will have complete creative control over everything from brand imagery — including underwear and fragrance campaigns — to diffusion lines and home goods"

"If Calvin Klein is indeed going to put more emphasis on Collection — and pay Simons a reported salary of $18 million a year —"

He has the best he could ask. I'm happy for him and i'm happy for the next chapter of Calvin Klein.
I finally can have hopes on his work again.

Fall 2017 is good. They'll have Prefall 2017 and Menswear to introduce their vision to the company and the retailers and the runway show will be the big event to introduce the new Calvin to the world.

Seriously, maybe i'm going too far but i think Raf showing at NYFW can have the same impact as Helmut Lang had in the 90's. It will bring another energy to the city and above all, those NYC designers will have someone new to copy from.

Finally, the kids will be able to afford Raf's vision.

Now raf do undearwear and jean line.Kevin Carrigan still is creative director for both brand or not.Kevin desgined a lot good stuff.he worked for Ck from 1998.Most ck income came from undearwear and jean.His ad campaign is stronger and remarkable than mr.costa and zuchelli.
Raf's vision is lack of sex.
I hope Raf will work with margot robbie.She is one of best ambassador ck ever have.