Back to basics: At Klein, Veronica Leoni does Calvin-core for today
For Spring/Summer 2027, Veronica Leoni distilled the codes of Calvin Klein into a sensual, stripped-down wardrobe for a new generation. Anders Christian Madsen reviews the show.
The Calvin Klein show took place at a Terminal Warehouse decked out in floor sculptures by Walter De Maria. One was made up of hundreds of silver metal cylinders laid out in a repetitive formation. They served as an apt allegory for Veronica Leoni’s spring proposal, which was her most focused collection to date. Since the Italian designer was tasked with reiviving the upmarket Collection line, she has been mining the archives for expressions that could fit both the mentality and the expectations of today. The latter hasn’t been an easy task. Calvin Klein is an American institution – with all the gatekeepers that come with it – and when Love Story hit the screens last season, a broader nostalgia for the brand amplified the public notion of what the brand should be.
After seasons of experimentation – which has, among other elements, offered some great deconstruction – on Friday afternoon Leoni made the rational decision and went back to basics. “American Minimalism was a discipline of removal: take away everything that does not carry the work, until only what is necessary remains,” she said. “Calvin drew from that and turned it toward the body. I turn it toward the woman inside it. My minimalism begins there, in the relation between design and a body, with nothing in between. Take everything away. What is left is desire.” Her approach generated a light and sensual silhouette cooled down by an icy, slightly clinical sensibility. Dresses and skirts emphasised sculptural forms while tailoring was slender and pragmatic.
The result was a wardrobe of meticulously studied, stripped-down essentials: coats, shirts, suits, skirts and slips constructed in intriguing fabrics that never shouted too loudly. It was smooth, slick and structured, but with enough emotion to remain interesting; human. That feeling was intensified by a soulful Kid Harpoon soundtrack featuring Laurie Anderson and Solange. The latter was in attendance alongside Rosalía, Teyana Taylor and Tate McRae, whose presence underscored the current attraction to the brand, not just among those whose ‘90s wistfulness comes from memory but among new generations, who have grown up with a digital nostalgia for an era they never experienced. At Calvin Klein, Leoni can’t necessarily recreate it, but with her pared-down collection, she painted a pretty fine portrait of Calvin-core for today.
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