Chief Creative Officer, Raf Simons Leaves Calvin Klein

- On Friday, it was revealed that Raf Simons is leaving Calvin Klein, effective immediately.

- The New York Times reports that Simons had six months of his contract left, and that his departure means that Calvin Klein will no longer be showing during New York Fashion Week.

- According to a press release (via The New York Times), "Calvin Klein, Inc. decided on a new brand direction which differs from Simons’s creative vision.”

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The announcement that Raf Simons is leaving Calvin Klein has come as somewhat of a surprise. The New York Times broke the news on Friday, revealing that Simons' departure comes "six months before his contract was due for renewal, and is effective immediately." No successor has been named, and it's unclear what the next steps will be for either the brand or the designer.

The New York Times notes that the relationship between Simons and the brand was irreparably fractured last month when the chief executive of the corporation that owns Calvin Klein apparently appeared to blame the chief creative officer for declining sales.

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The Calvin Klein Collection was renamed as Calvin Klein 205W39NYC under Raf Simons, and created the perfect opportunity for the brand to revisit some of its most iconic designs, while reimagining key looks through the creative director's own inimitable lens. A new HQ was opened in Paris back in March 2018, with a view to showing Simons' collections in the architecturally impressive space.

This article originally appeared on Harper's Bazaar US.

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