So, Raf Simons’ second Calvin Klein show happened last night, and it’s all I plan to talk about for the next 24 hours. “Emma?” Someone will ask, “are you joining us for this meeti–” “I mean, I’m still not over the cowboy boots!” I’ll squeal, grabbing them by the shoulders. “And those giant pom-pom dresses! ICONIC!”
One of the reasons this collection has shaken this humble ex-goth to the core? The darkness of it all! Electric Chair Warhol prints. The latex gloves. A blood-splattered look. A red, shiny dress that was like Carrie post-prom bloodbath. Backstage, Raf said he was thinking about American horror, and you could tell.
Especially, it turned out, when it came to the footwear. To the average observer, these ankle-strapped heels might have resembled some kind of sporting cup, but to those of us who obsess over a particular period of American horror movies (starting at 1968’s Night of the Living Dead, ending around 1984’s Nightmare on Elm Street), it was definitely a reference to something else.
Yes, that is 100% Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th’s hockey mask rendered as a Calvin Klein shoe, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. (OK, maybe I won’t go that far). It’s all there! The white plasticky upper with round holes, the red chevron detailing, the black leather straps secured by silver studs. The mask didn’t appear in the first two films (Jason as we know him actually wasn’t in the first one, and wore a boho chic burlap sack over his head in the second), but has been the killer’s trademark since the third movie came out in 1982.
Centred around the supposedly idyllic Camp Crystal Lake, an all-American summer camp which a serial killer is stalking, Friday the 13th fits with the themes of Raf’s twisted Americana. And we are 100% on board with it.
Watch the show in full below:
