So yes, it's finally confirmed: after months of speculations, rumours and gossips, it has formally been announced that Raf Simons is heading to Calvin Klein, as revealed all over the Internet today and announced via a celebratory post on the company's Instagram page. The announcement wasn't confirmed until now due to the year-long non-compete clause in Simons's Christian Dior contract that finished last month.
Steve Shiffman, CEO of Calvin Klein, Inc. welcomed the anouncement on the brand's social pages with the statement "The arrival of Raf Simons as chief creative officer signifies a momentous new chapter for Calvin Klein (…) 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."
Simons will be Chief Creative Officer at Calvin Klein, replacing in this way Francisco Costa as creative director of Calvin Klein women's Collection and Italo Zucchelli as creative director of men's.
The designer will be in charge of Calvin Klein Collection, Calvin Klein Platinum, Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein Jeans, Calvin Klein Underwear and Calvin Klein Home brands, reuniting and unifying in this way all the brands under one vision. His first collection should appear for the Fall 2017, in the meantime he has relocated to New York. Simons' longtime associate, Pieter Mulier, has been appointed Creative Director, reporting directly to Simons and managing the men's and women's design teams within the Calvin Klein brand.
It will be intriguing to see where Simons may take Calvin Klein and in particular how he may develop the home line since he is very interested in interior design, but there are a few points that seem irreconciliable with Simons' claims after he left Dior.
When he exited the Parisian fashion house he stated in a press release "it is a decision, based entirely and equally on my desire to focus on other interests in my life, including my own brand, and the passions that drive me outside of my work." Shortly afterwards, he also shared his views on the rhythms of fashion in interviews, claiming that the relentless catwalk shows and collections meant that there was no time for letting ideas grow and mature.
Yet Calvin Klein is a major global company and Simons' new job means that he will cover a wide variety of roles and aspects, probably many more than the ones he had at Dior. So, how will he manage to find the "incubation time for ideas" he mentioned in an interview with Cathy Horyn last year? Besides, will he manage to find space and inspirations also for his own collections? We'll see. It may sound evil and nasty betting on how many years designers will last at fashion houses nowadays after they get appointed creative directors, but juggling too many roles and responsibilities surely isn't a great recipe to a stress free creative career.
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