On a balmy Wednesday evening, inside a candlelit bungalow at Chateau Marmont, Veronica Leoni toasted a new chapter - not just for Calvin Klein, but for the brand's intimate legacy. The creative director of Calvin Klein Collection was in Los Angeles to celebrate a partnership with Maxfield, the avant-garde retailer known for curating fashion as art. Among the 30 guests were Tracee Ellis Ross, Jodie Turner-Smith, and filmmaker Gia Coppola, who arrived visibly pregnant beside her partner, artist Honor Titus.
Leoni, the first woman to lead Calvin Klein's design studio, is on a western tour to reconnect with the customer in person. "I think L.A. and Rome have a lot of commonalities," she mused, citing a shared vastness and anonymity. Born in Rome, she brings a distinctly European sensibility to a house built on American minimalism - and on lingerie. Calvin Klein's foundation in underwear, from the iconic 1980s waistband to the sheer slips that redefined boudoir dressing, is the thread running through her spring 2026 collection. At Maxfield, the selection leans into that heritage: slips, denim, trenchcoats, and "underwear-inspired dressing designed to move easily between day and night."
Maxfield co-owner Maria Luisa Perse noted the unexpected success of trenchcoats in L.A., but what captivated her was how Leoni "mixed so much lingerie with tailored clothing." It's a dialogue between the intimate and the architectural - a conversation Calvin Klein began decades ago when it turned the bra into a ready-to-wear staple. The storefront's sculptural dress, built entirely from logo waistbands and tags, is a literal nod to that elastic empire.
Leoni's next stop is Aspen, but for now, she's savoring the analog thrill of shopping. "I do value the experience," she said, a reminder that even in a digital age, the story of lingerie is best told in person, one slip at a time.
Originally reported by WWD