Calvin Klein X Palace April 2022 Grand Slam Campaign by Alasdair McLellan
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In the world of Calvin Klein, skaters find each other. The collab began as just a “weird Idea,” Lev Tanju from London’s indy skate house Palace explained. Following Apple’s famous marketing admonition to ‘Think Different’ Tanju already had a 2020 alliance with Whitney Houston’s estate under his belt. The Palace x Polo Ralph Lauren collab dropped in New York in November 2018. There was a Chanel collab, too, so why not Calvin Klein, Tanju reasoned.
Besides, Jacob Jordan, the Calvin Klein exec on that call, “was a skater and cool.” Jordan came out of Apple, LVMH, Thom Browne, and Helmut Lang to assume the role of Global Chief Merchant, Head of Product Strategy & New Product Ventures at Calvin Klein.
The pitch by Lev Tanju to the Calvin Klein team not only had legs. It had wings — large and sprawling ones ready to fly high and mighty with the big boys. Unlike Icarus, Tanju is a team player with no need to fly solo as the supreme God.
Tanju knows he has big-time skills but no desire to fall to earth in a mess of melted wax and testosterone that flew too close to the sun. Hey, skaters are earth creatures who know their limits . . . well — sort of.
“From our first conversation, there was such a natural connection and a mutual appreciation and understanding of one another’s brand vision and DNA,” said Jacob Jordan. “It’s been really exciting and inspiring for me to see how people outside of Calvin Klein interpret the brand and its history. With Palace, the story we wanted to tell came to life quite naturally and we had a ton of fun working on it. I hope people will see that energy in the campaign and the products we created together.”
The Calvin Klein X Palace Campaign
The result is a world-class campaign and product strategy photographed by long-time Palace photographer Alasdair McLellan. [IG] The campaign is styled by Max Pearmain as a candid tale of two cities: New York, Calvin Klein’s home, and London, the birthplace of Palace.
From the East River to the Thames, Scarr’s Pizza to Rules Restaurant, the campaign film is a love letter to both cities — at a time when the world needs love. In marketing speak that goes pretty deep, the cheeky and irreverent narrative chronicles the dualities of New York and London but also the enduring ties.
A truly global cast including cultural icons Willem Dafoe and the Pet Shop Boys is center stage, joined by the Palace Skate family, Lola Leon, Adwoa Aboah, Precious Lee and rapper Unknown T.
The cast of characters stand proudly in their own unique identities while navigating their lives and unexpectedly crossing paths. You can’t do London without royalty, so enter Dame Joan Collins to give her stamp of approval to the collab. Collins has always enjoyed hanging out with younger men.
In March 2022, Joan Collins and Percy Gibson celebrated their 20th anniversary at Claridge’s. We doubt that the Palace team was present for the actual event although Collins wears glittering but different dresses in images from both events.
In one of the world’s more celebrated older woman-younger man marriages, Joan Collins [then 58] married Percy Gibson [then 26 and ‘yes’, that’s no typo] in a fifth marriage for the ‘Dynasty’ star. Collins, now 88 reminds us all that their sexual romps are going strong still, with the dame concluding that the secret is separate bathrooms. Percy smiles and says that Collins still has absolutely great legs at age 88.
Perhaps what the world needs is love and great sex.
So there you go. Dame Joan Collins [IG] was revelling in hanging out with the Palace team and Alasdair McLellan. When asked what she wore to bed, Marilyn Monroe famously replied, “I only wear Chanel No. 5.”
Will Collins’s precious quote about the Calvin Klein X Palace collab be as long-lasting?
“I wouldn’t wear it myself” Collins shares.
The centerpiece of the Calvin Klein X Palace collaboration includes the first-ever remix of the classic CK One fragrance. This is a very big deal and represents Palace’s first product effort in fragrance.
The world’s first unisex scent is now transformed to reflect Palace’s playful sensibilities suffused with their sincere affection for the fragrance that defined a generation.
“CK One changed everything, and to be able to make a new version of it in a Palace way has been a dream,” Tanju explains.
In press-release speak: “the fragrance opens with a sparkling note of frosted mandarin for a bold brightness. At the heart, violet leaf lends a floral freshness. To complete the composition, oakmoss adds an addictive warmth for an alluringly earthy base.”
The collection will be available on April 8th at Palace London, New York, Los Angeles and Tokyo stores, palaceskateboards.com and calvinklein.com.
