15 February 2026 |
Veronica Leoni explores the physical form.
Throughout the 50-some odd years Calvin Klein has been around, one throughline stays consistent: a deep appreciation of the sensuality of the physical form. And what is minimalism but design intended to reduce distraction to highlight or obscure the lines of the body? It’s these ideas that Calvin Klein’s Veronica Leoni grapples with for her fall 2026 outing. Held at Hudson Yards with a stacked front row that included Blackpink’s Jennie, Dakota Johnson, Lily Collins, and more, it marked a continuation of Leon’s vision for the brand, one that takes house codes and reinterprets them for the modern age.
Per the show notes, it was an exploration of the hedonistic elegance at the core of the brand, an obsessive search for beauty. “I wanted to tighten my expression of elegance and style in the spirit of how the brand defined it in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with an intimacy and focus on form and the body to evoke a sense of empowerment and indulgence that is distinctly Calvin Klein,” she says. Opening with a long shearling trimmed black coat worn over flowy tailoring, it evoked a sense of ease and honed in on the indulgence sentiment. From there it segued irreverent takes on event dressing, albeit with tall and slim silhouettes, where it was the definition of business in the front and party in the back, with suiting on men and women that had keyhole details or flounces on dresses that bounced from behind.
Denim, always a core of the brand, made an appearance and drew from the archives — namely 1976 when it first showed up on the runway. Under Leoni it turns into a suit worn under layered coats. Speaking of nostalgia, she brought back the original logo as seen on a checked trench as well as on a leather aviator jacket. Besides traditional leather, Leoni also played with fabrics, utilizing everything from ribbed jersey to liquid velvet to transparent leathers, giving special touches to everyday pieces. But it wasn’t all practicality — the last two dresses, with their billowing silhouettes offered up plenty of social media bait. It’ll be interesting to see who among the front row will wear them on the red carpet first.
