Calvin Klein is closing its flagship store in New York, following Raf Simons' resignation.
Raf Simons
The American fashion house has announced plans to completely restructure their brand and the luxury label, starting with the closure of their Madison Avenue store
The PVH Corp. company plans to use a "digital-first" approach and are going to combined their sportswear and jeans line.
Whilst the higher-end Calvin Klein 205W39NYC line will be renamed and given a whole new direction.
The announcement comes just three weeks after Simons departed the label well before the end of his three-year contract, reportedly due to a difference in opinion.
Calvin Klein was reportedly underwhelmed by Simons' performance as the company's chief creative officer
The 50-year-old designer was hired by the firm amid much fanfare, but his time with Calvin Klein subsequently fell short of investor and consumer expectations.
An insider said: "Raf spent a fortune doing up Calvin Klein's Madison Avenue flagship store, which was fine as it was.
"He also blew a stack of money building a new Paris headquarters for the brand which looked more like an art gallery.
"Plus, CK/PVH had to pony up millions to the Warhol Foundation to license the images for the 'partnership' led by Simons which was met with collective indifference by the consumer."
Simons' contract was due to expire in August 2019, but in a recent statement announcing his departure, Calvin Klein explained that it wanted to find "a new brand direction".
Despite this, both parties have refused to go into detail regarding the circumstances that led to Simons' exit.
The statement read: "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."
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