When Eva Serrano arrived at PVH Corporation in 2023, she was given a mission: bring Calvin Klein back to the runway. She chose to accept.
“This is the place Calvin Klein belongs. We have a long history,” says Serrano, the global brand president for Calvin Klein, who spent more than a decade working across Zara and parent company Inditex in Asia prior to joining PVH, where she was recruited by CEO Stefan Larsson. “It was something everyone was waiting for — but we needed to come back at the right moment and give it the right image.”
That moment is now: Calvin Klein’s Autumn/Winter 2025 runway show will be held today (7 February) at 12pm at the brand’s headquarters on West 39th Street in Manhattan. When we speak, it’s the Monday before the show, and Serrano says the energy is palpable in the office. It’s been six and a half years since Calvin Klein’s shown at New York Fashion Week (NYFW) — its last was with Raf Simons in the role of chief creative officer in September 2018 (Simons departed the brand that December).
Anticipation is high. New York embraces its icons, be they Calvin, Tommy, Ralph, Marc, Donna or Diane, yet none show consistently on the NYFW schedule, which lacks recurring anchors and regularly sees promising talent depart for Paris. Many in the New York circuit are looking to Calvin Klein to inject something back into not just the brand, but the local fashion scene.
First, Serrano had to find the right person for the job. She says she had her eye on Italian designer Veronica Leoni, who spent years at brands including Jil Sander, Celine in its Phoebe Philo era and The Row (Simons also spent time at Sander prior to Calvin). She started her own label, Quira, in 2021, putting forward collections of smartly tailored suits, oversized coats, buttoned-up shirts and pleated skirts — encapsulating the modern, minimalist woman echoed by the brands where she got her start, and earning her a spot as an LVMH Prize finalist in 2023.
“I could see that what she was developing was very close to our DNA,” Serrano says. “Then we met, and we had many conversations where we spoke about this DNA translating into current times.” Leoni accepted the job last May – her first time leading a major fashion brand.
All in the DNA
What is that brand DNA? Serrano references it often, making it apparent how important it is that Calvin Klein Collection, the brand’s top-end line of ready-to-wear, hews closely to the rest of the business. Collection hasn’t been seen in some time, spare a few red carpet appearances on the likes of Zendaya, among others (under Simons, it was briefly renamed 205W39NYC after the HQ). As of now, Calvin Klein’s underwear and denim business dominate what we associate with the Calvin Klein name – and primarily underwear, most recently thanks to Jeremy Allen White’s sweaty rooftop campaign last summer.
