NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Calvin Klein, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of PVH Corp. (NYSE:PVH), today announced a multi-year partnership with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
Calvin Klein, Inc.’s financial commitment will support the foundation’s endowment from which it distributes grants sustaining the creation, presentation and documentation of contemporary visual art. In turn, Calvin Klein will be granted unprecedented access to the late artist’s works, including many that have not yet been published. The global partnership is effective through 2020 and will extend to licensing projects across various business lines and future activations within the CALVIN KLEIN brand portfolio.
“I am proud that through this licensing agreement with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Calvin Klein will be continuing its longstanding commitment to the celebration of American artists and their prolific work,” said Steve Shiffman, Chief Executive Officer, Calvin Klein, Inc. “I look forward to the global rollout of this partnership across multiple levels of the CALVIN KLEIN consumer experience.”
“I’ve come to realize that Warhol’s genius goes much deeper than cheerful Campbell’s Soup paintings,” said Raf Simons, Chief Creative Officer. “He captured all sides of the American experience, including sometimes its darker sides. Warhol’s art tells more truths about this country than you can find almost anywhere else.”
“Warhol’s legacy is not limited to the tremendous influence of his timeless concepts but also through the work of the foundation he established, which has become one of the pre-eminent funders of contemporary art having distributed over $275 million in grants since inception,” said Michael Dayton Hermann, Director of Licensing at the Warhol Foundation. “We are proud that Raf’s visionary work at Calvin Klein will unabashedly embrace all facets of Warhol’s work and generously contribute to the foundation’s endowment.”
The first iteration of the partnership was unveiled in September 2017, with Raf Simons’ Spring 2018 CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC runway show. The collection, which is available in stores in January 2018, incorporates a selection of Warhol artworks as placement screen prints. The body of work is intimately connected to the collection’s inspirations of cinema, the dream factory of Hollywood and its depictions of both an American nightmare and the all-powerful American dream. The pieces feature portraits of Warhol intimate and art collector Sandra Brant (1971) and movie star Dennis Hopper (1971), as well as Knives (1981–82), Electric Chair (1964–65), and Ambulance Disaster (1963–64) from Warhol’s Death and Disaster series. The collection also features pieces produced under license and in collaboration with Hopper Goods, a brand inspired by the life and spirit of actor, photographer, and iconoclast Dennis Hopper.
Andy Warhol’s links to fashion dated back to his first years as an artist, when his witty shoe pictures drew eyes to Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. In the 1970s, the connection became more personal when Warhol befriended a fresh generation of New York designers that of course included Mr. Calvin Klein himself. Klein had set out to capture a new, truly American essence in his creations, and that meshed perfectly with Warhol’s own interests.
Now, 30 years after Warhol’s death, Simons is setting out to renew the relationship between the great American fashion house of CALVIN KLEIN and this greatest of American artists. Thanks to The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Simons has been forging what he sees as a deep, thoroughgoing collaboration with the undying genius of Warhol, built on the creative ideals that they share. Like Warhol’s art, Simons’ designs for 2018 and beyond are committed to a fearless embrace of the place and the times that we live in.
About Calvin Klein
CALVIN KLEIN is a global lifestyle brand that exemplifies bold, progressive ideals and a seductive aesthetic. We seek to thrill and inspire our audience while using provocative imagery and striking designs to ignite the senses.
Founded in 1968 by Calvin Klein and his business partner Barry Schwartz, we have built our reputation as a leader in American fashion through our clean aesthetic and innovative designs. Global retail sales of CALVIN KLEIN brand products exceeded $8 billion in 2016 and were distributed in over 110 countries. CALVIN KLEIN employs over 10,000 associates globally. We were acquired by PVH Corp. in 2003.
About PVH Corp.
With a history going back over 135 years, PVH has excelled at growing brands and businesses with rich American heritages, becoming one of the largest apparel companies in the world. We have over 35,000 associates operating in over 40 countries and over $8 billion in annual revenues. We own the iconic CALVIN KLEIN, TOMMY HILFIGER, Van Heusen, IZOD, ARROW, Speedo*, Warner’s and Olga brands, as well as the digital-centric True & Co. intimates brand, and market a variety of goods under these and other nationally and internationally known owned and licensed brands.
*The Speedo brand is licensed for North America and the Caribbean in perpetuity from Speedo International Limited.
About The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
As the preeminent American artist of the 20th Century, Andy Warhol challenged the world to see art differently. Since its founding in 1987 in accordance with Andy Warhol’s will, The Andy Warhol Foundation has established itself as among the leading funders of contemporary art in the United States having distributed over $275,000,000 in grants supporting the creation, presentation and documentation of contemporary visual arts, particularly work that is experimental, under-recognized or challenging in nature. The foundation’s ongoing efforts to protect and enhance its founder’s creative legacy ensure that Warhol’s inventive, open-minded spirit will have a profound impact on the visual arts for generations to come. Proceeds the foundation receives from licensing projects such as this contribute to the Foundation’s endowment from which it distributes grants. For more information please visit www.warholfoundation.org.
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CALVIN KLEIN |
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