Calvin Klein made a triumphant return to New York Fashion Week after a six-year hiatus, marking the brand’s first show since 2018. The legendary designer himself, 82-year-old Calvin Klein, made a rare appearance at the Autumn/Winter 2025 runway show held at the brand’s New York headquarters on February 7th, 2025.
The event was a reunion of fashion icons, with Klein joined by longtime collaborators and friends, including Anna Wintour, Kelly Rector, Christy Turlington, and Kate Moss. These supermodels, renowned as muses for the brand in the 1990s, added to the star-studded atmosphere. Moss’s initial campaign with Calvin Klein launched her career in 1992, while Turlington has enjoyed a long and fruitful collaboration with the brand.
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The guest list also included notable figures like Alexander Skarsgård, Nara Smith, Bad Bunny, and Kendall Jenner, who graced the runway as one of the models. Klein, maintaining his signature sophisticated style, opted for a classic black suit jacket, a crisp white button-down shirt, a black tie, and a black vest.
The return to New York Fashion Week was announced less than two months prior by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). The event showcased the debut collection of the brand’s new creative director, Veronica Leoni, in an “intimate showing” of both men’s and women’s wear.
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Eva Serrano, the Global Brand President of Calvin Klein, emphasized that Leoni’s inaugural collection signified “a new era of innovation and creativity,” seamlessly blending a fresh perspective with the brand’s enduring legacy. Serrano affirmed in an interview with Vogue that the runway is precisely where “Calvin Klein belongs.”
This show was not only a return to the runway but also a significant milestone: the first time a woman has helmed the brand. Leoni, an Italian designer with extensive experience in the industry and the founder of her own label, Quira, in 2021, focused on creating a collection deeply rooted in the brand’s core “DNA,” according to Serrano.
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Leoni aimed to present a versatile “24/7 kind of wardrobe,” with a particular emphasis on tailoring, a nod to both her own and Calvin Klein’s personal style. Serrano described the collection as a testament to the brand’s core values of empowerment and confidence, striving for a consistent message across all aspects of the brand, from products to store experience and marketing.
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Rather than a reintroduction, Serrano viewed the show as a “building block” in the brand’s evolution, achieved through close collaboration with Leoni and a deep dive into the essence of what defines Calvin Klein in the contemporary landscape for both loyal and new customers.
