CK "Wake Up Like A Dream" To Find New Creative Direction

Fifth months after the departure of the former creative director, Raf Simons, the fashion brand Calvin Klein of the United States seemed to have a new dream.

According to sources, MarieGulin-Merle, the chief marketing officer of PVH group, the parent company of Calvin Klein, announced an InCKubator marketing plan in an internal memorandum in May 17th.

The InCKubator program aims to convene external creative talents, conduct various forms of cooperation in fashion and retail space, and launch four to six cooperation projects for different consumer groups annually.

The team will be led by GregBaglione, senior director of global strategy and business development, and will convene some young employees in the group.

However, InCKubator also plans to have its own design team and will continue to look for creative director.

The project will be launched in September when CalvinKlein is about to launch its new brand.

After the closure of the flagship store in New York in January, the complete closure of Calvin Klein 205W39NYC and the disintegration of related teams in March, CalvinKlein has not found the creative leader to replace Raf Simons. But it seems that the expectations of reform are no longer placed on such a role.

At the same time, group management personnel pfer is very frequent, which seems to confirm the above judgment.

According to the latest news of fashion business today, Ralph Lauren's former CEO StefanLarsson will serve as the president of PVH group for 5 years. After taking office, she will be responsible for supervising and managing Tommy Hilfiger, CalvinKlein and other brand matters, and to the chairman and chief executive officer Emanuel Chirico.

It is reported that EmanuelChirico's plan is to deliver CEO's duties to Stefan Larsson in the next 3 to 4 years, and she will continue to serve as chairman of the board.

Earlier, Marcella Wartenbergh has been promoted to the brand chief marketing officer, reporting to Calvin Klein chief executive SteveShiffman. At the same time, she will continue to serve as the global licensing business and international market leader. MarcellaWartenbergh will enhance the commercial feasibility of its brand products through its global management experience.

After joining the Calvin Klein for more than 20 years, UlrichGrimm was promoted to the global director of non clothing design. He was responsible for the design of shoes and accessories. In the future, the business involved also includes home products. SuzanneBarton was promoted to be the global leader in brand underwear design to ensure the brand consistency of Calvin Klein Underwear, Calvin Klein Performance and CalvinKlein CalvinKlein.

Obviously, PVH group reestablished its position after failing in the high-end fashion series, and focused on returning to the key categories of brand performance such as jeans, underwear, perfume, and strengthening management power as a precondition for reform and reorganization.

KimVernon, President and chief executive officer of Vernon, a consultancy, has said that running a brand without a designer series is a huge challenge. It requires experienced management to launch a unique business model by combining the core value of the brand with the product that captures the minds of consumers.

Therefore, the introduction of InCKubator in the absence of the creative director represents a radical pformation of CalvinKlein thinking in a sense.

Prior to the brand's expectations of the star creative director has been lost, now the brand will turn to young creative talents.

Young creative talents can not only help brands to establish contacts with the latest consumers, but also from the cost point of view, young creative talents may be much cheaper than the annual salary they paid to RafSimons for up to $18 million.

Such an innovative model has been proved successful in Moncler.

In February last year, Moncler launched the first new cooperation project, Moncler Genius, to cooperate with 8 designers, Chao Teng Yuan Hao FragmentDesign founder, British pioneer designer Simone Rocha, Valentino creative director PierpaoloPiccioli and so on. It has been running in a new form on a monthly basis, and has won praise from the industry and consumers in the third quarter.

The MonclerGenius project provides another possibility for the fashion industry, not only a creative director, but also a creative direction for every brand.

With the help of many designers' energy for brand empowerment, MonclerGenius can break the potential problems of aesthetic fatigue, ultra fast rhythm, and brand design quality that may result from a single creative director, effectively enrich the connotation and diversity of brands, and continue to provide consumers with fresh experience and inspiration.

The brand that does not follow the traditional fashion industry's creative production mode is increasing, and it may become a common practice in the industry.

LVMH's luxury brand FENTY, launched in collaboration with singer Rihanna, will open its first flash store in Paris in May 24th.

Rihanna recently revealed that the brand will also release new products in the form of "flash drop" in the new flash shop, and will not hold a fashion show.

In addition, the brand will be sold directly to consumers through the official website, rather than through department stores and other channels, aiming to more directly dialogue with young consumers.

CalvinKlein, who stands at the new starting point, also has to consider the future development trend of the industry.

InCKubator and Moncler and FENTY share the same ideas. Such creative production and brand marketing are obviously more consistent with the pace of life of young people. Therefore, it is easier to mobilize their enthusiasm, and let the group return its attention to products and create more explosions at the lowest cost.

About the latest InCKubator, MarieGulin-Merle said in a media interview that the past business strategy has become a past fashion, it is a fashion show, a series and some single products. Although these have not disappeared, the old script must be overturned.

In fact, Calvin Klein has deliberately stepped up digital marketing after the departure of Raf Simons, making it clear that youthful positioning.

In February, CalvinKlein launched a digital marketing campaign called "#MyCalvins", inviting post-90s supermodel Kendall Jenner, hip-hop musician A$AP Rocky and singer ShawnMendes to mirror in the commercials and videos of the cowboy and underwear series in Glen Luchford.

The latest digital marketing campaign is #My Truth#, which collaborate with celebrities such as singer Troye Sivan and Billie Eilish. Among them, BillieEilish has become the most popular singer in the United States in recent months, and the choice of Indya Moore for denatured models is also regarded as a response to the free consciousness of young people nowadays.

However, last week's latest release of a video clip on supermodel Bella Hadid and social networking virtual idol LilMiquela was controversial.

Although the two are heterosexuals, there is a kiss picture in the video clip, which has attracted the criticism of LGBTQ minority groups.

There is a view that brands only use this topic to create clicks rather than genuine support for the topic.

The brand also issued an apology in the Instagram snapshot.

It also exposes the huge risks faced by fashion brands today in communicating with young consumers with new technology platforms and social issues.

CalvinKlein, which is based on young people's brand image in the last century, is clearly no longer young in the millennial generation and Z generation. It takes time to find a young sensation.

Vanessa Friedman, a fashion critic, has reviewed the young pioneer role of CalvinKlein in 1990s in a column for New York Times.

In October 1994, the launch of CKOne perfume overturned the perfume industry at the time of the first neutral perfume. It also symbolized the rebellion of the younger generation of X.

Calvin Klein has disclosed data that CKOne has been sold in the music store, with sales of up to $about 5000000 in the first 10 days, averaging 20 bottles per minute.

In the mid 1990s, the annual sales of this perfume amounted to about $90 million.

Although CK One is not the first popular perfume for men and women in the world, sex marketing for male and female sex consumers has only started since 1930s, but CKOne is the first publicly sold neutral perfume.

This positioning is based on the research and development of the CalvinKlein brand at that time on the X generation of consumer groups, and extends to the brand marketing method for the perfume.

The advertisement of CK One is photographed by photographer Steven Meisel, which focuses on liberalism and rebellious attitude.

In addition to the British model KateMoss, who is rich in rock and roll, the brand also photographed a series of young models and industry figures who rebelled at that time, including Jenny Shimizu, Stella Tennant and Polly AllenMellen.

Vanessa Friedman pointed out that although Calvin Klein reintroduced CK One in different forms, for example, CKin2u was launched in 2007, but when consumers change, this perfume can no longer trigger similar resonance in 1990s.

It can also promote the situation of Calvin Klein in addition to perfume.

For CalvinKlein, returning to youth is a top priority.

Although the market is changing rapidly, the rules of the game in the fashion industry have not changed.

Once we seize the pulse of the new generation of young people, the brand will take the initiative in the future market.

Today, CalvinKlein is a radical creative team pformation initiative designed to establish links with younger consumers earlier than competitors.

Calvin Klein CEO StevenShiffman has said earlier that it is more necessary than ever to promote the development of fashion and culture and create new products and experiences to meet consumer demand. Brand strategy will enable brands to develop in a more modern, dynamic and efficient way.

He stressed that in this critical period, the commercialization of CalvinKlein will create huge growth opportunities for the group, and annual revenue is expected to enter the $12 billion club in the next few years.

At present, PVH's plan to restructure CalvinKlein is beginning to bear fruit. The group gained more than expected results after difficult operations in the first three quarters.

In the fourth quarter ended February 3rd, PVH Group sales fell 1% to 2 billion 480 million US dollars, but still exceeded analysts' expectations of US $2 billion 410 million, with net profit of US $158 million 400 thousand.

Annual sales volume approached us $10 billion, an increase of 8.3% to 9 billion 656 million US dollars, a record high.

For fashion brands, it is difficult not to be young for a while but to remain young and fresh for a long time.