The much ballyhooed Calvin Klein-Raf Simons marriage has ended in divorce — and now observers wonder what’s next for the iconic American fashion brand, and whether it can flourish without the “halo” of a designer collection.
As reported, the tie-up between Klein and Simons came to an abrupt — but not unexpected — end Friday night when Calvin Klein Inc. sent out a terse press release at 6:17 p.m., right before the Christmas holiday weekend, stating the company and Simons, who was chief creative officer, had “amicably decided to part ways.” The statement said that Klein has decided on a new brand direction which differs from Simons’ creative vision — but provided no details on what that new direction is.
Calvin Klein will not be having a fashion show during New York Fashion Week in February (it had been scheduled for Feb. 12 at 8 p.m.), and the company will now have to figure out how to move forward after the pricey, multimillion dollar experiment with Simons went bust after a mere 28 months, and eight months before the end of a three-year deal with the Belgian designer.
PVH Corp., parent company of Calvin Klein, invested between $60 million and $70 million in
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