A homage to America in all its variety
at New York Fashion Week THE Belgian-born former Christian Dior designer Raf Simons debuted his first collection as chief creative officer at Calvin Klein yesterday with an homage to “the unique beauty and emotion of America”.
The fashion house established in 1968 was famed in the 1980s and 1990s for its sleek minimalism and iconic denim and underwear lines, modelled by the likes of Brooke Shields and Kate Moss.
The corporate history had evidently been a point of reference for Simons, who designed the collection alongside his long-time collaborator, Pieter Mulier. One deep indigo boiler suit was clearly a nod to the label’s jeans heritage.
Ditsy floral prints and handcrafted patchwork were spliced with muted grey checked tailoring to combine the quaint domesticity of Little House on the Prairie with the corporate chic of the city.
A Stars and Stripes flag with opulent gold fringing was reworked into a draped skirt, while the standout shoe, a reworked cowboy boot, was catnip to the fashion set.
A front row that included Lauren Hutton, Karlie Kloss and Naomie Harris watched the show, and backstage afterwards, Gwyneth Paltrow, Julianne Moore and the Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown congratulated Simons.
With an age range from 12 (Brown) to 73 (Hutton), that suggests his vision for Calvin Klein is an inclusive one.
In his notes for the show, Simons said it was “a coming together of different characters and individuals, just like America itself ”, a powerful message to begin the first New York fashion week of the Trump era.