CALVIN KLEIN SS26

New York Fashion Week is officially here and it’s clear that someone at Calvin Klein got the message. 

Without a doubt the someone in question is Calvin Klein’s creative director, Veronica Leoni who delivered a show that embraced the city that never sleeps in full, unflinching force. Inspired by the faces and fits that Leoni observed on her morning runs through the city, this Calvin Klein runway was an attempt at capturing a “Magnified Normality.” Half-dishevelled, half chic, the show debuted looks that ranged from a drunken stumble from the club at 6 in the morning, to the equally bleary shuffle to the mailbox. With this thesis in mind, it is perhaps appropriate that there should be some definite hits and only a few notable misses.

Admittedly the opening look did present a shaky start. The crisp, pinafore apron dress appeared eerily similar to the recent looks of the Jacquemus SS26 show. The silhouette was glaringly similar on its own, but Leoni chose to pair this look with a head scarf that might as well have been ripped right out of one of Simon Porte’s own lookbooks.

However, Leoni hit her stride quickly thereafter, offering a much clearer ode to Calvin Klein’s own mainstay: Undies! For a show that strived to blend the intimacy and exposure, what better way to show it then to have models rock sheer balconette bras ever-so-slightly peeking out from low-cut  tailored jackets. Too subtle? Leoni didn’t mince messages with another look that had a model rocking a pair of white Calvin Klein briefs over sheer white tights. This look was completed by a billowing V-cut top and a neck wrap. 

Need to grab the newspaper, but want to look damn good while you do it? Leoni has the perfect synthesis: a bathrobe mixed with a trench coat. Multiple looks debuted an uber-pleated trench in various materials including gabardine, charcoal leather, and even an on-the-nose Terry cloth. Once again, Leone’s thesis for the show was well executed, both in form and function.

The motif of messy chic only faltered when it came to the wearability of certain pieces. A number of belted jumpsuits and dresses featured a wrinkled linen that, while creatively intriguing, did not present an attractive spin on the bedsheets-the-morning-after vibe. This kind of risk may have been better received by a brand more deeply entrenched in the avant, but for Calvin Klein it seemed a touch too untidy.

Many netizens have speculated that what this Calvin Klein show missed was a real staple piece—something easily identifiable and buzzy. Quite simply: A hit item. There were clear attempts made in the recurring use of tasseled pom-poms, which hung from a series of grey and white suits. An immediate image comes to mind of a stylish New Yorker stalking the morning with their shaggy dog bobbling just ahead. Although they were certainly eye-catching, their execution left them too clunky to make the kind of ripples necessary in an ultra-competitive year in fashion.

Following a portrait of the highs and lows of New York, Veronica Leoni closed the show with a look that is Calvin Klein to a tee. Denim on denim. It just never fails, and, if anything, it proves that sometimes you don’t need a new hit when you’ve already got something timeless in the back pocket. To end the night Leoni offered a light blue denim jacket and matching bootcut jeans, complimented, not by boots but by that recurring, pesky staple of this year’s Spring Summer shows… flip-flops.