Enfnts Terribles

“Both parties have amicably decided to part ways after Calvin Klein Inc. decided on a new brand direction which differs from Simons’s creative vision,” the company said in a statement. On Instagram, members of Raf Simons’ team at Calvin Klein are reacting shocked to the news, which makes us think they didn’t know about the news before the announcement. Matthieu Blazy, a part of Simons’ team, posted a photo on Instagram saying “When there are no words…”. We feel you, Matthieu.

Too high-end

Although this might come as a surprise to many, there had been some rumors recently. First of all, there were the bad sales of the last quarter. The 205W39NYC ready-to-wear collections were good, but the price point might be a little too high. It seems like the Calvin Klein customer just wasn’t ready for a high-end collection. In a statement, the American brand said it will shift focus of their marketing campaigns to cheaper items, because it had been too much focussed on the “high-fashion” consumer.

“We will cut back on a number of these planned investments in the 205 collection business, and as we move forward, we will be taking a more… commercial approach to this important business,” chief executive Manny Chirico explained.

Our opinion is that this is a stupid move from Calvin Klein. They should have just lowered the prices of the 205 collection a bit and give it some more time. You can’t expect your brand to make major changes in just two years. When a new designer starts at a house, it needs time before you can see big results.

Raf’s legacy

Raf Simons’ hire at Calvin Klein was a big shock for the fashion industry in 2016. He was the American brand’s very first chief creative officer and he was expected to bring a big change to Calvin Klein. His first collection immediately was a hit and the three collections after that were at least equally as good. Let’s make this clear, the collections Raf made at Calvin Klein were some of the fashion industry’s finest. He earned multiple awards from the Council of Fashion Designers of America during his time at Calvin Klein.