Since a few months, the Belgian Fashion Designer has had swirling rumours to be the next chief creative officer at Calvin Klein, and finally, it has happened for real now.
The engagement of the former creative director at Dior has been confirmed by Calvin Klein as its new chief creative director. The brand shared this news in a statement on Facebook, explaining Simons’s new role at the American fashion brand.
Raf Simons’s new role will require him to oversee and manage every aspect of the brand like Design, Global Marketing and Communications, and Visual Creative Services, which is totally different from his time in Dior, where other designers took care of men’s fashion, store concepts, and beauty.
CEO of Calvin Klein, Steve Shiffman said in a statement: “The arrival of Raf Simons as Chief Creative Officer signifies a momentous new chapter for Calvin Klein. Not since Mr. Klein himself was at the company has it been led by one creative visionary, and I am confident that this decision will drive the Calvin Klein and have a significant impact on its future. Raf’s exceptional contributions have shaped and modernised fashion as we see it today, and under his direction, Calvin Klein will further solidify its position as a leading global lifestyle brand.”
What does the Rf Simons get from Calvin Klein? What he couldn’t get at Dior - the chance to reshape the identity or the face of an iconic brand, from its designs to its advertising to its choice of celebrity models. One reason why the Belgian Fashion Designer resigned from Dior last fall was because of the continuous cycle of shows, which left very little time to think and experiment. The second reason will seem to contradict the first, but it makes sense when you have as much to offer as Simons as he wanted more participation in all the creative and innovative decisions at the house, and Dior as a company didn’t work that way.
A great designer has crossed an ocean to join a world-famous American label and to bring up some fun, at the very moment when designers seem to be questioning the rationality of the business and getting out. Well, this announcement feels quite historic and significant. The Simons-Calvin Klein collaboration expresses the opposite belief - that a designer with vision can possibly make a difference, indeed change the tempo for the industry.
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