Veronica Leoni departs Calvin Klein Collection after four seasons
The Italian designer, who returned the brand to the runway after a seven-year hiatus, will exit at the end of her contract as Calvin Klein searches for a new creative director.
Calvin Klein said Thursday that Veronica Leoni, creative director of Calvin Klein Collection, will depart once her current contract concludes. The brand has not named a successor but said it will reveal new Collection creative leadership “in due course.”
The brand credited Leoni with helping to restore Collection’s profile through four runway presentations and extending her creative impact into fashion’s wider cultural conversation, according to the announcement.
Her tenure at the brand
Leoni joined Calvin Klein in May 2024 and unveiled her debut collection at New York Fashion Week in February 2025, marking the house’s first runway presentation in seven years. She was the first woman to hold the creative director role at Calvin Klein Collection. Her fourth and final collection premiered in September 2026.
The Rome-born designer arrived at Calvin Klein with experience at Jil Sander, Céline, Moncler and The Row, where she directed design for both womenswear and menswear. She had also launched her own label, Quira, which was selected as an LVMH Prize finalist in 2023 before she paused it to take the Calvin Klein role.
Critical reception and sales performance
Leoni’s debut collection drew mixed reviews, but her later seasons demonstrated development. Her spring 2026 presentation was deemed a “standout” by WWD, and her spring 2027 collection, shown last month, was described by the publication as “distinctively more evolved and elevated in fabric and silhouette,” with Leoni returning to a leaner approach grounded in the house’s minimalist ’90s archive.
In September, Calvin Klein led New York Fashion Week’s social metrics, according to the analytics platform ListenFirst, achieving a 15.3 million engagement score—a 552 percent increase from February’s show. The spring 2027 presentation attracted prominent attendees including Rosalía, Teyana Taylor, Sadie Sink, Tate McRae, Pamela Anderson, Katie Holmes, Gemma Chan and Emily Ratajkowski.
Department store reception differed markedly. WWD’s retail survey found that no major stores ranked Calvin Klein Collection among their preferred lines during Fashion Week. Robert Burke, chief executive of Robert Burke Associates, told the publication he was unaware of significant department store distribution for the line. PVH Corp., the parent company, reported that Calvin Klein revenues declined 7 percent to $913.3 million in the second quarter ended August 2, 2026.
The search ahead
Calvin Klein Collection has cycled through two other creative directors since the founder stepped back in 2003. Francisco Costa held the role from 2003 to 2016. Raf Simons, who worked as chief creative officer from 2016 to 2018, revamped the collection under the name Calvin Klein 205W39NYC. After Simons’ exit, the collection withdrew from the runway until Leoni’s appointment.
This article was compiled by the Glamorade editorial desk from the official announcements and reporting listed under Sources.
