Calvin… Or Nothing?

Veronica Leoni
In some ways, Leoni was an obvious choice. If her work at Calvin Klein is good, she will firmly become an industry star. Photo: Matteo Prandoni/BFA.com
Lauren Sherman
December 23, 2024

Last week, Calvin Klein announced that its new Italian designer, Veronica Leoni, would show her first collection during New York Fashion Week, in February. Even as recently as a year ago, it was universally accepted that Calvin Klein was no longer a Fashion Week brand. The company, which last sent models down the runway in 2018, had long since coalesced its business around underwear and denim, the forever profit center buoyed by decades of occasionally provocative, consistently attention-grabbing marketing. The beauty of boxer briefs is that you don’t need the runway—you only need Jeremy Allen White and Greta Lee, albeit standing on the metaphorical shoulders of Mark Wahlberg and Kate Moss. And yet, here we are, anxiously awaiting yet another ready-to-wear debut from one of Europe’s rising stars.