First Look: Raf Simons' Calvin Klein

“Handcrafted and made to measure in NYC” reads the text that accompanies Calvin Klein’s new campaign, its first under chief creative officer Raf Simons, quietly unveiled on Sunday. Fourteen looks shot by Willy Vanderperre and styled by Olivier Rizzo, both Simons favourites, feature models such as Natalie Westling and the actress Millie Bobby Brown in bespoke looks that play on American sartorial tics: a tulle prom dress (“the Debutante”), a “Cheerleader” dress, a stars-and-stripes “Majorette” fringed skirt. Each image is presented alongside one of white Calvin Y-fronts which serves to underscore a quote attributed to Simons: “Calvin Klein is not only about iconic underwear and jeans – it’s about so much more.”

This is the brand’s first foray into bespoke-for-all. Entitled ‘By Appointment’, the campaign signals the launch of an individual line born of the New York atelier’s celebrity by-appointment service. “No longer solely for celebrities”, reads the accompanying text on Calvin Klein’s website, the line will be “an open made-to-measure service” and a “tribute to the Calvin Klein atelier: a full range of handcrafting skills from embroidery to tailoring.” Appointments are available from April 1 2017, an email address conveniently supplied.What Raf For Calvin Klein Means For Fashion

Naturally, the internet has got excited over the appearance of Stranger Things’ Millie Bobby Brown. More interesting, however, is Calvin Klein's commitment to ‘Made in the USA’. Usually this would be cause for celebration. It seems no coincidence that the bespoke line was unveiled to coincide with the spring haute couture shows in Paris – this is one way for the brand to push its minimalist aesthetic and reassert its authority as a fashion brand that is, as Simons says, about more than just that famous logo-branded product.

Unfortunately, however, the campaign also coincided with the inauguration of President Donald Trump on Friday, whose message of “America First” and promise to set American manufacturing alight – “buy American and hire American”, he said in his speech – has unhelpfully taken the sheen off the ‘Made in the USA’ supply chains that so many brands have fought to preserve. Calvin Klein will hope Brown is a distraction.