205W39NYC. It is the name chosen for the new headquarter of Calvin Klein in Paris to present the last Raf Simon’s collection. 205W39NYC for 205 W 39th street on Madison Avenue in New York City, main head quarter of the brand. The creation of this huge space was offered to the german artist Sterling Ruby, Calvin Klein‘s Chief Creative Officer and Raf Simons’ long-time collaborator. The result is … how to say? … surprising! I let you discover some pictures of that unique piece of art which is the new Calvin Klein head quarter.
Raf Simon is, in a way, the visionnary guy that brought Calvin Klein to the top level. The Chief Creative Officer of Calvin Klein lead the creative strategy of the brand since 2015. The objective of the belgium designer is to give a fresh air to the brand. Since his arrival, he redesigned the logo and renewed the main collection : Vision of Americana. All of this new strategies made the sales increase such as the notoriety of the brand.
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The artistic director surprised its public during the last fashion week of New-York with a really strong and powerful critic of the american society. Arriving on a room where the floor was entirely covered with pop-corn, symbol of the american waste, the public saw models weared with bulletproof jacket, firefighters’ protective clothing or survival blanckets. All the aim of it was to show off the decline of an american society that doesn’t seems to see its implosion.
Accordingly, the new Head Quarter of the brand, that opened some times after the fashion week, represents this new creative identity. Using the cues of the previous New-York show, the artist Sterling Ruby re designed the 15 000 square foot and the two floors of this historical building. The architectural design was done by the Architecture Research Office of New York.
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Sterling Ruby, it is this 46 years old german artist, and long time collaborator of Raf Simons that plays with everything he touch to create a critic. The artist correspond completely to the new identity that Raf Simon try to implement to the brand. With a lot of inspirations such as schizophrenia, paranoia, gangs, violence, prison, globalization, punk or american decline, Ruby search to provoke his spectator and make him react.
With this HeadQuarter, Ruby tryed show us a certain kind of mess. While we are looking at it, we are not sur of the place of each item. Why this column is here, on the ground, while this other one is still standing ? Why this safety bareer is suspend in a vacuum ? Why does this shoe is here, on the middle of nothing ? An interior that make us asking a lot of question about the utility of all of those objects. But it is precisely the idea of the new spirit of the brand, criticizing the useless, the hyperconsumption and showing off an evident decline.
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To summary, the new Head Quarter of Clavin Klein is the place to visit to understand on which creative direction Raf Simons decided to bring the brand. Calvin Klein is an all today, the clothes, the environment, the colours, the forms, the spaces. The idea is to proove to the world that America was and isn’t anymore.
205W39NYC from Calvin Klein
103 Rue de Grenelle,
75007 Paris,
France