CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER RAF SIMONS PRESENTED THE SPRING 2019 COLLECTION FOR CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC
Raf Simons, Chief Creative Officer, Calvin Klein, Inc. presented the Spring 2019 CALVINKLEIN 205W39NYC runway show this evening at the brand’s global headquarters located at 205 West 39th Street in New York City.
Two iconic American movies, JAWS (1975) and The Graduate (1967) inspired the collection’s concept and aesthetic. Both represent transgression, the idea of the predator, and a fundamental questioning of authority – a rebellion that is quintessentially American.
“The landscape of America – literal, and psychological – inspires CALVIN KLEIN. A journey through America leads, inevitably, to the edge of the landscape: the beach. At the beach there is this incredible idea of beauty, but also a tension – between land and ocean, a feeling of two worlds meeting, maybe colliding. There’s a sense of the unexpected – and always, a temptation. For me, JAWS perfectly exemplifies these notions.” – Raf Simons
Also influencing the Spring 2019 collection is the sense of tension between different worlds and different environments: youth and maturity, female and male, hardship and privilege, rebellion and conservatism.
“I’ve always been fascinated by the dress codes of different generations – of mothers and daughters, fathers and sons; how the changes between different generations of families reflect the changes of American society. I love the movie The Graduate and the different family dynamics at play. Like the film, this collection explores taboos and temptations, shifts in culture and community, but ultimately, the overarching theme is love.” – Raf Simons
References are drawn from cultural uniforms such as graduation robes, tweed jackets and schoolboy blazers, diving suits, tuxedo jackets, and blue jeans. A sequence of dresses references mid-century American couture and high society, constructed from ‘crashed’ layers of material and original chiné patterns recreated from 1950s and 1960s textiles.
Contrasts between items suggest a narrative of disguised dialogues. Like cinema, they tell stories. Fabric and fringe panels are used as palimpsests bearing Andy Warhol imagery of the American artist and fashion designer, Stephen Sprouse.
The collection was presented to an audience of notable guests including Saoirse Ronan (face of the brand’s newest fragrance, CALVIN KLEIN WOMEN), Jake Gyllenhaal, Millie Bobby Brown, Laura Dern, A$AP Rocky, Rami Malek, Meek Mill, Mia Goth, Naomi Campbell, Gwendoline Christie, Khalid, James Harden, Jeff Goldblum, Kate Bosworth, Odell Beckham Jr., Billie Eilish, Rowan Blanchard, Katherine Langford, Kelsey Asbille, Noah Schnapp, Judith Light, Jinyan Wu, Camila Coelho, and Halima Aden, among others.
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EDITORIAL CREDIT: CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC
IMAGE CREDIT: RUNWAY LOOKS: © 2018 Giovanni Giannoni
IMAGE CREDIT: EVENT, PORTRAITS + FRONT ROW: © 2018 BFA.com
ADDITIONAL CREDITS:
Artwork by Andy Warhol featured on garments ©/®/™ The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.