Calvin Klein partners with the Andy Warhol Foundation

London - Calvin Klein has entered into a new partnership with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, which gives the American fashion brand unprecedented access to the late artist’s life work - much of which remains unpublished. The partnership comes after Calvin Klein’s Chief Creative Officer Raf Simons expressed his interest in Andy Warhol’s work after using his photographs as a source of inspiration for his second collection for the brand.

The global partnership, which will remain effective through to 2020, sees Calvin Klein supporting the foundation’s endowment financially from which it distributes grants for contemporary visual art in exchange for access to Warhol’s work. The partnership includes licensing projects across numerous Calvin Klein lines, as well as future initiatives 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.”

Raf Simons’ Spring/Summer 2018 Calvin Klein 205W39NYC runway show was the first iteration of the partnership, as the collection incorporates a selection of Warhol’s artworks. The late artist’s connection to fashion dated back to his first years working as an artist, when his shoe picture drew interest to Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. Warhol’s links to the industry became stronger in the 1970s when he befriended a number of fashion designers in New York, including Calvin Klein himself. 30 years after the passing of Warhol, Simons aims to renew this relationship between Calvin Klein and Warhol through this new partnership.

“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.” In the past, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc. has partnered with other fashion houses such as Dior and Comme des Garçons, but this marks its largest partnership to date.

Photo: courtesy of Calvin Klein