New York Fashion Week wraps up today, and this season was host to Veronica Leoni’s debut at Calvin Klein, the American behemoth label that had been dormant, at least on the runway, since the 2018 departure of Raf Simons. Leoni, a Roman designer who had spent time at Jil Sander (under Mrs. Sander), Phoebe Philo’s Celine, and The Row, showed her collection to a packed room full of industry insiders and, notably, Calvin Klein himself, who sat front row along with his muses Christy Turlington and Kate Moss.
On this episode of The Run-Through, recorded two days after her debut show, Leoni joins Nicole Phelps to talk about her life growing up in Rome, studying philosophy and fashion theory, what she learned from working for influential female designers, and her approach to defining the new essence at Calvin Klein. “It’s almost like the ultimate American dream that you can export worldwide,” she says. “It’s a deep sense of beauty that is based on freedom of expression, spirited emotion, and cultural relevance.”
