Raf Simons out at Calvin Klein: What went wrong?

In a move that was widely anticipated, Raf Simons is departing Calvin Klein
after parent company PVH confirmed the brand will go forward with a
different direction and vision. After only four seasons in the role, the
promise of Simons revolutionising American fashion came to an abrupt halt.
Sadly, this was a marriage not meant to endure.

What went wrong?

In a rare move for PVH, Simons was handed full creative carte blanche for
Calvin Klein’s By Appointment label, the men’s and women’s re-named
mainline 205W39NYC, CK jeans and all campaign imagery when he was appointed
in 2016. But his cerebral and creative message failed to sufficiently boost
the bottom line, the ultimate measure of success for a billion dollar
business.

Last month PVH chief Emanuel Chirico publicly criticised Simons that the
brand skewed “too high fashion” and that new commercial measures were to be
implemented going forward. His message was underscored by hiring L’Oreal’s
long time marketing veteran Marie Gulin-Merle as chief marketing officer,
not reporting to Simons but instead to chief executive Steve Shiffman.

“While many of the product categories performed well, we are disappointed
by the lack of return on our investments in our Calvin Klein 205W39NYC halo
business and believe that some of the Calvin Klein Jeans’ relaunched
product was too elevated and did not sell through as well as we planned,”
Chirico stated during an announcement of third quarter earnings in November.

While Simons’ collections were heralded by the industry itself, they failed
to ignite the mainstream, the mid-market segment where PVH sees the
greatest possibility for growth. Critics say it takes more than two years
to turnaround a house, but it would appear neither party had considered the
full financial and time commitment to make it happen.

Calvin Klein was hoping for the Gucci effect

No doubt Chirico had hoped Simons would do for Calvin Klein what Alessandro
Michele did for Gucci, a 360 degree change in creative direction that has
lead to stellar growth and successful brand recognition.

But Calvin Klein is not Gucci, nor is it primarily luxury. The CK Jeans and
underwear labels are so embedded in mass culture and distribution, it was
always going to be risky to expect a cerebral creative like Raf Simons to
play in the mass field, an area where he has little experience.

Early on Simons introduced product identifiers that saw its wholesale
channels grow from 30 to 300 stores. There were the marching band uniforms,
the by now ubiquitous rollneck worn under cowboy shirt look, cowboy boots
and plenty of denim. But in those four seasons there was little halo effect
on Calvin Klein’s other labels to achieve the sales Chirico was looking
for.

Furthermore, where brands like Gucci and Burberry heavily rely on sales of
accessories, Calvin Klein has little in the way of a handbag business.

In his short tenure Simons won a plethora of accolades, most notably
crowned designer of the year and womenswear designer of the year by the
Council of Fashion Designers of America as well as international designer
of the year by the British Fashion Council. At his acceptance speech in
2017, Simons thanked Steve Shiffman for “taking him on and taking a risk.”
He stated his aim was to be impactful, emotional and to try something new.
The risk, sadly, was too great. New York Fashion Week has lost a great
artist.

Pictures: Calvin Klein 205W39NYC fall 2018 ad campaign Landscapes. Credit: © 2018 Willy Vanderperre