It’s only days before Raf Simons makes his debut for Calvin Klein at New York Fashion Week, and the house has just dropped a brand new campaign. True to form for the chief creative officer, it’s a testament to his love of art.
Titled ‘American Classics’, shot by prolific fashion photographer Willy Vandeperre and styled by Olivier Rizzo, the set of images features models in the brand’s classic pieces, pictured in front of works by great twentieth century artists including Andy Warhol, Richard Prince and Simons’ favourite (and past collaborator) Sterling Ruby.
In extended online content posted to CalvinKlein.com, the juxtaposition of the models and their respective artworks is explained through text – and they even recreate Warhol’s iconic Screentests in an exclusive video. In a quote posted to the company’s Instagram page a couple of hours ago, Raf explains the concept: “It’s a celebration of Calvin Klein’s iconic underwear and jeans; acknowledging their status as Pop and showing them in the world of art.”
This isn’t the first time Raf has blurred the lines between art and fashion – his now-iconic debut couture show for Dior featured Jeff Koons-inspired flower walls and a notoriously difficult to render Sterling Ruby couture dress (if you don’t know what we mean, watch Dior and I). Based on this track record, his debut collection for Calvin Klein promises to be just as memorable.
See more of the campaign imagery in the gallery above and go here to get your art history lesson.
