RK Raf Simons left Calvin Klein less than two years after debuting as a creative director and eight months before the end of the contract.

Fashion designer Raf Simons started working at Calvin Klein after three years as a creative director at Dior. He was praised by the fashion world for his beautiful, creative and creative designs, even though they did not bring high commercial value. Raf Simons' departure was not unexpected after the chairman and CEO of parent company PVH Corp. and Emanuel Chirico criticized the uneven financial performance (deflected toward high fashion) last month.

"The two sides made a decision well after seeing the future direction of Calvin Klein different from Simons' creative vision," the company said in a statement. The Simons representative declined to comment on the decision. Belgian designers receive a salary of millions of dollars each month and as a creative director, Raf Simons has the right to monitor all design and marketing work, the level of control he does not have in Dior.

From the beginning, hiring high-class fashion designers to hold the position of creative director for a brand famous for denim, underwear and mass media is a risky step. However, PVH leaders noticed the stagnation because of the lack of creativity of competitors Ralph Lauren, while the long-standing brands in Europe such as Gucci had a significant increase in revenue after radical overhaul. .

Therefore, when fashion designer Raf Simons took over this position, Calvin Klein not only hoped to create the effect for low-cost products but also changed the business brand, changed its name to 205W39NYC, with the desire to turn the cost into Marketing into commercial power.

However, from the beginning of the term, between Simons and the brand did not find a common voice. Personal aesthetics cannot meet the brand's needs worth billions of US dollars. NTK Raf Simons' first advertising campaign for the 2017 Autumn-Winter Collection collected a lot of mixed feedback. Captured by veteran photographer Willy Vanderperre, the photo is said to be "dry", unlike a campaign with a sexual orientation that is the company's DNA. However, others have positive comments about the orientation of new images, art and modernity.

In return, the performance collection was highly appreciated by experts in the fashion industry. In the first season alone, sales increased from 30 to 300. Simons tried to convey creative ideas to the majority of customers by shaking hands with CEO Macy's (opening a sales center in the mall). This one) or invite the Kardashian family to participate in promotional campaigns for underwear and denim.

In March, Chirico pledged the BST 205W39NYC to bring a boost to the brand. But PVH's patience began to wear out when the echoes created by Simons could not turn into revenue growth. By September, Simons' idea of ​​performing at the outdoor stage was canceled due to budget constraints (the catwalk was set up on the ground floor of the company's headquarters). Later, according to many sources, PVH expressed concern that after cooperating with the Andy Warhol Foundation - the visual arts fund, Simons will have "biased" artistic designs instead of great products. them.

PVH has not achieved sales in the latest quarter. Chirico pointed out the failure of BST 205W39NYC, in addition, the recent denim BST of Calvin Klein did not achieve the desired results. The brand's income only increased to US $ 963 million (up 2%) in the third quarter. PVH's shares fell 35% this year.

“We will cut some of our planned investments for BST 205W39NYC. In the future, we will have a more commercial approach for this important business, ”Chirico said after PVH announced unfavorable financial results in November. He added, Calvin Klein will shift mind of marketing campaigns from high-end fashion to more affordable items aimed at the right target customers.

The first step for this plan is to focus on e-commerce including social postings and the use of micro-influencers (small-scale influencers) to connect customers. The Calvin Klein customer group aims to be millennials (born 1981 - 2001) or specifically Gen Z (born in 1991 - 2001) - the target group is used to actively using social networks and No longer interested in printed publications.

In recent months, the company has begun to reconsider the responsibility and limit of the rights of designer Raf Simons. Marie Gulin-Merle became the new communications director of Calvin Klein and will report to brand executive director Steve Shiffman, instead of Simons.

Simons won several awards at the American Fashion NTK Council (CFDA) while working at Calvin Klein. His absence left a big gap at New York Fashion Week, where he was one of the few designers that caught the attention of international media.

CFDA CEO Steven Kolb said: “Raf Simons brings a unique perspective to American fashion and we hope for a successful future for him. Calvin Klein is a symbolic brand of the United States and will continue to develop in the direction of new innovation.

 elle.vn