It has been almost a year since Raf Simons was announced as the chief creative officer of Calvin Klein, and even though he has only presented one collection since then, it’s been a busy year. The joint AW17 menswear and womenswear show was received very positively and earned the Belgian designer the top prizes at the CFDA Awards, and more recently he branched out into music, helping to direct The xx’s latest video.
Now, Simons is revealing new campaign, shot by photographer Willy Vanderperre. With the images captured on the highway in a desert in California, it continues the Americana theme of the collection. The 22 models – that include Julia Nobis, Kiki Willems and Dazed cover star Selena Forrest – are dressed in standout pieces from the collection like the American flag dress, matching men’s and women’s tailoring and that golden yellow faux-fur coat covered in a layer of plastic. Unsurprisingly, underwear is ticked off the checklist too, with a model wandering the landscape in a pair of tiny white briefs.
Keen eyed fashion fans will notice that on the billboard in the background is the first ‘American Classics’ campaign – released before the debut collection in February. Simons used it to set the tone, choosing to focus on three artists – Richard Prince, Andy Warhol and Sterling Ruby – rather than the clothing featured, which was mostly plain denim or white cotton vests.
With NYFW fast approaching, this will be a taster to keep fans eagerly awaiting Simons’ second collection.
