After months of buildup and weeks of teasing what his Calvin Klein will look like via advertising campaigns and a newly created couture-ish collection called By Appointment, Raf Simons made his debut this morning on the ground floor of the company’s 39th Street headquarters before a small crowd of fashion insiders and a glittering group of celebrities. Brooke “nothing comes between me and my Calvins” Shields was in a mix that included Gwyneth Paltrow, Julianne Moore, A$AP Rocky, Naomie Harris, and the young stars of Moonlight. Millie Bobby Brown, a new face of Calvin, also sat front row.
Simons has a lot going for him: 20-plus years’ experience designing arguably the most influential men’s label around (see: Off-White, et al.), and a pristine womenswear CV that includes Jil Sander and Christian Dior, sui generis pioneers of their day whose oeuvres he studied and approached with huge respect. But what stands out as his unique selling proposition and what puts him in a class almost all his own—he has been heralded as the savior of American fashion, a more pressing assignment than ever, given the imminent exodus of Proenza Schouler and Rodarte for Paris—is Simons’s earnest sincerity. It’s what brought the show “home” to 39th Street, rather than a Chelsea gallery; it’s what prompted him to add “Established 1968” on the show’s invitations; and it’s why he had tears in his eyes, as he has so often in the past, as he took his runway bow with his right-hand man and creative director Pieter Mulier. His sincerity has endeared him to a crowd more familiar with froideur.
Fashion has lately witnessed many a house revival with such mixed results that the rule book has all but exploded. Arguably the most successful creative director of recent years—Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent—was a disruptor, not a reverer. “What will Raf do?” has been the refrain since he signed on the dotted line last August. The house of Calvin has its own codes: primarily American minimalism and a provocative sort of sensuality (with the sensuality bit being the harder element to nail for Simons’s predecessor, Francisco Costa). Simons clarified his own approach in the program notes: “You are sat in an artwork by Sterling Ruby . . . . It is part of Simons’s curatorial approach to the brand.”
With outsiders’ perspectives, Simons and Mulier riffed on Americanisms, including brightly colored band uniforms, Wall Street suits, sheriff’s jackets, quilting on some terrific men’s parkas--make those for women, too, please!--and metal-tipped cowboy boots. They devoted a fair bit of attention to the great American plastic couch cover, slipping transparent plastic over everything from plaid tailoring to a sensational yellow-gold fur coat and feathered cocktail numbers. Strange. But it’s such a weird idea, it just may catch on. Calvinisms got their attention, too. Male and female models wore varsity sweaters with sheer torsos in a technical knit that looked lifted from the world of shapewear, a tricky look for both genders. Brooke Shields’s famous silhouette was stamped on the leather label on the back waistband of jeans.
Denim represents a huge opportunity for Simons and co., a fact he must be well aware of as a longtime fan of Helmut Lang, whose own denim game was so strong. Jeans may be a huge part of the Calvin Klein business, but they haven’t registered with the fashion crowd for years. That may soon be changing. Within this insular world, if not necessarily outside of it, interest in suiting is surging, and the precision tailoring here, both in the banker plaids and band-leader brights, will also be alluring. It could help lift the label out of the realm of “smoke and mirrors” posturing so often talked about, into real retail viability. As for the collection’s dresses baring the bottom curve of breasts, only the bravest members of today’s celebrity contingent will give them a go.
Citing his own icons (James Dean and Barack Obama) backstage, Mulier said, “The first time I visited America I was 22, and it’s always been my dream to come here.” He and Simons have picked a complicated, contentious moment to put down roots. They’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly, and with all sincerity they’re embracing it. That’s a smart way to start the brand’s new era—it gives them a lot of room to move around. This wasn’t a home run, to use another Americanism, but it gave some of us a well-timed jolt of hope and optimism.
