Raf Simons Named Chief Creative Officer of Calvin Klein

[florylate]

Much more better fit than Dior ever was. I can't wait to see the same quality and creativity of the collections he designed back at Jil.

Finally. Congrats Raf!

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

Please...
it's so annoying.

 

[Wintergreen]

Definitely suits him much better than Dior.

 

[Deleted member 141523]

Congrats Raf. He's one of my faves. Prepare to see Julia Nobis in his ads, he loves her.

 

[Jacque Marcel]

Can't wait to see Cathy Horyn in her Calvins.

 

[t-rex]

So what will Costa be up to? Is he looking for another house?

 

[christian zh]

Can't wait to see Cathy Horyn in her Calvins.

I literally screamed.

 

[rip_ian curtis]

I doubt we will see a take two on his Jil Sander. It's like when he was confirmed for Dior, everyone thought his Dior will look like the beautiful Dior-esque things he made at Jil Sander, but it didn't end up that way (sadly). I have a feeling it's gonna be a lot more about americana and playing with the classic elements, youth, seeing CK jeans on the catwalk etc etc. Mixing high and low. All in all just a different client than the more grown-up, impossibly stylish and at times experimental Jil Sander woman. I think the last thing he wants is to be compared to Costa and to "compete" with his times at the label.

 

[Fashionstuff]

Well, no surprise. Curious for the results.

Me too. Want see results

 

[Norden]

I always find it so sad how much criticism Raf gets, especially here. His tenure at Dior wasn't the height of creativity, but what he did was very right considering the time and history of the house. Raf is a smart designer, who thinks strategically, and he deserves credit for that.

Thats also why I think it's fitting that he moved on to CK, the house is definitely a better fit for his mentality and aesthetic. Pegging Raf as a minimalist designer is wrong, and I wouldn't expect hard core minimalism at CK at all. Hopefully he will refocus the brand and give a more singular and aspirational vision. Because its too accessible and simplistic now, its almost competing with fast fashion, which is a race it will loose.

It's very exciting to see a creative director getting full control again. What I hope for CK and Raf is that they're both in it for the long run. The constant flux of creative directors in the fashion industry is sad and unproductive. You cannot establish a brand in 3 years. It takes 10.

 

[Scotty]

Congrats Raf. He's one of my faves. Prepare to see Julia Nobis in his ads, he loves her.

Yikes @ Julia! I don't want CK by Willy though.

 

[Pricciao]

Hopefully he will refocus the brand and give a more singular and aspirational vision. Because its too accessible and simplistic now, its almost competing with fast fashion, which is a race it will loose.

That's why I feel it might not work as well as people think. He just can't fight against fast fashion repeatedly season after season. It's frustrating. And he'll be fed up and leave NY for good. I'll be delighted if they prove me wrong and pursuit a different route. But even it says the business head wants to focus more on the designer clothes which raises less than 0.01% of the total profit. Listen how silly that sounds, will the marketing be decisively different and fit Raf's ideal state? eh

 

[Lola701]

I always find it so sad how much criticism Raf gets, especially here. His tenure at Dior wasn't the height of creativity, but what he did was very right considering the time and history of the house. Raf is a smart designer, who thinks strategically, and he deserves credit for that.

Most of the designers are smart and thinks strategically. Raf is not that different from the top designers or most important designers of the past 20 years.
Maybe what he did at Dior was right for the time but people will remember it because it was done by Raf, not because it was great. His Dior wasn't great at all. He didn't designed clothes people craved to have.

What he did at Jil was beautiful but no one bought it. Now, he will have the opportunity to design something beautiful, fresh and sellable.

What Costa did was great but obviously, the executives didn't believed enough in his work to push it like they should have.

 

[lelaid]

I hope his work reflects more of what he did at Jil Sander than what he did at Dior (especially the later collections).

 

[TaylorBinque]

I think a lot of critiques towards Raf was based on his interview which is understandable. However, the reason I don't find this is hypocritical is that Calvin Klein and Dior has two very different corporate structure and operates differently.

Everybody knows how Toledano is controlling the house. If you see what is going at Kering, the magic happens when they actually change the CEO of the brand too. I feel like Raf could handle well under pressure but he wasn't be able to create the overall vision of the brand and LVMH doesn't sound like the best place to work at.

As much as his lackluster last few collections were, he has transformed his creativity into actual sales. The impressive number that make him looks like a perfect fit for Clavin Klein.

 

[softgrey]

sad...
raf's work lacks sex appeal...
that is the big flaw in all of it...

not sure how this lines up with the original ethos of calvin klein...
frankly- in my mind, it doesn't...

my prediction is that it will be stiff stiff stiff...

it will definitely get a lot of attention from the press...
which is good for the brand, who hasn't been really relevant for many years, even decades...

we'll see how long it lasts though...
...

 

[CholoChic]

with her clinical vision he is perfect in ck
somethin i can see

 

[Littleathquakes]

^ I agree. it's a perfect match.

 

[dior_couture1245]

sad...
raf's work lacks sex appeal...
that is the big flaw in all of it...

not sure how this lines up with the original ethos of calvin klein...
frankly- in my mind, it doesn't...

my prediction is that it will be stiff stiff stiff...

it will definitely get a lot of attention from the press...
which is good for the brand, who hasn't been really relevant for many years, even decades...

we'll see how long it lasts though...
...

Re: sex appeal....

While Raf's Dior was completely neutered and sexless, actually quite of few of his collections for Jil Sander were pretty sensual. I can recall the famous Man Ray/fringe collection of 2009 that was very erotic and genuinely so.

If he can bring that attitude to CK, I feel like he will be successful. As long as he doesn't overthink it like he did at Dior! Please no!

I also hope he is smart enough to realize that CK relies on beautiful and healthy looking models as a part of the brand philosophy and deep rooted image. I don't want to see Julia Nobis in a cold as ice Wily V. ad campaign. He would need to work with a model like his past fav Yulia K. - who was one of his most consistent faces during his time at Jil - whose more sexy and glamorous look amped up and gave life to his minimal designs.

 

[WilliamsLe010919]

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.

expect CK campaign with Julia Nobis & Daria Strokous

 

[MulletProof]

I also hope he is smart enough to realize that CK relies on beautiful and healthy looking models as a part of the brand philosophy and deep rooted image.

does it? never realized how torn I actually am on their image haha, cause yeah they have that super sexual marketing happening and yet I associate their image with a catwalk trail of frail-looking, 22-going-on-12 identical girls from either the netherlands or russia. In my mind Calvin Klein actually pioneered one of unhealthiest aesthetics in modeling and society in general.. but I might be giving them too much credit.

and since he's no stranger to that, that's guaranteed in the horizon, he'll feel right at Dior or Jil..