The company laid off 100 employees and plans to close its Milan office.
Despite having previously expressed plans to rebrand its 205W39NYC line, Calvin Klein has decided to shut down its collections business altogether; the news was first reported by WWD and later confirmed to Fashionista by a source who’s very close to the matter.
The fashion-forward, high-end range was started by Raf Simons when he first joined the American brand in August 2016. At the end of 2018, Simons announced his departure. In January, the company said it would relaunch Calvin Klein 205W39NYC with a “new name, design approach and creative direction,” per a press release from PVH.
Now that this segment of the business is no more, about 100 employees across its New York and Milan offices were laid off, including Calvin Klein 205W39NYC’s President Michelle Kessler-Sanders, who will stay on until June. In addition, there are plans to close the brand’s Milan office entirely.
The move is part of a broader restructuring that also includes the development of a new “consumer marketing organization” geared towards implementing an innovative, digital-first marketing strategy. Plus, Calvin Klein is still in the process of hiring a fashion director to oversee the brand’s various product categories, which will still range between accessible items like jeans and underwear to high-end or aspirational offerings.
Said source has also put an end to any speculation that Kevin Carrigan — who worked at Calvin Klein as global director for 18 years before going to work for Ralph Lauren Corp. upon Simons’s hiring — could return to the brand, denying said rumor. (Carrigan resigned from Ralph Lauren earlier this year.)
Note: This post has been updated from its original version to include clarification and confirmation from a source who works closely with the business.
