Jeans, underwear and Brooke Shields are things most of us associate with Calvin Klein. The Blue Lagoon had a marked impact on teenaged girls of the ’80s, as did Shields’ frank admission that nothing came between her and her Calvins. We wanted to be her, at least when she was rolling around with Christopher Atkins. Shields was the quintessential Calvin Klein girl: all-American with a wild side.
“I think about sex all the time!” laughs Francisco Costa, women’s creative director for Calvin Klein Collection. “That’s very much part of what Calvin does.”
Prior to building a clothing empire, Calvin Klein began his career as a women’s coat designer in 1968. Then in 1979, a 15-year-old Shields turned his slim-fitting denim into a must-wear item. Provocative ad campaigns featuring Christy Turlington and Kate Moss followed, helping catapult the idea that—even in conservative middle America—sex sells. In 2002, before selling his company for a reputed $730 million, Klein brought on Francisco Costa.
“Creating a style that transcends and is sexy is so much a part of what Calvin Klein created, and it’s great,” says Costa. “I will take my time to create something that’s a bit more odd.”
If that means designing the minimalist black shift dresses and sleek cigarette pants of his Fall 2010 collection, then Costa is right on the money. A slip of a man, the native Brazilian has an engaging laugh, and his candour about his sexuality as well as his love for his mother feels authentic. While he admits that he was merely a collaborator—not a creator--in the perfume’s development, he is symbolically linked to the scent.
“We researched the word ‘beauty’ and discovered that it traces back to circa 1275,” says Catherine Walsh, senior vice-president of American Fragrances at Coty Prestige, who developed the scent. “It was derived from a Greek word, kalos, which means beautiful. Ancient Greeks used the word for two reasons: to describe a beautiful object and to describe a person with morally admirable character.”
It’s easy to see that Costa’s character is admirable. He respects his predecessor’s vision by creating similar collections—with a twist. He uses only the best materials, often making his own fabrics. And he is well versed on the brand’s 42-year history, including the role of the calla lily.
“It’s part of the dna because it exudes that perfect balanced form: It’s romantic, strong and feminine, but it’s also masculine,” he says. “It evokes sexuality.” He’s hoping it will also evoke perfume sales.
A light, buttery floral, Beauty features ambrette seeds, which emulate the spiciness of the lily.
“Women today buy [based on] emotion,” says Costa. He sees Beauty as “very similar to the women we dress: It’s mysterious, it has this complexity.”
First published in FASHION Magazine October 2010
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