“I just had this weird idea,” recalls Lev Tanju from indy London skate house Palace of his first conversation with an executive from New York’s mighty Calvin Klein. Even if “weird ideas” and brands as established as Calvin Klein don’t often mix, Tanju pitched it anyway, because he’d just discovered that Jacob Jordan, the guy on that call, “was a skater and cool.”
Now, after much digital teasing, including a clip of Dynasty’s imperious Dame Joan Collins observing, “I wouldn’t wear it myself,” the product of that conversation has been unveiled. At a screening event in New York last night, Tanju and his Palace peers and skate team/crew joined Jordan (who is Calvin Klein’s Global Chief Merchant, Head of Product Strategy & New Product Ventures) for the premiere of the new film that accompanies the Calvin Klein and Palace collaboration, entitled CK1 Palace. Directed and shot by Alasdair McLellan and styled by Max Pearmain, the movie is perhaps the most ambitious Palace film so far, but stays true to the irreverent mickey-taking spirit of past Palace productions. Alongside it comes a McLellan campaign that is revealed here for the first time.
Dame Joan “I wouldn’t wear it myself” Collins stars in the CK1 Palace campaign.
Photo: Alasdair McLellan / Courtesy of CK1 Palace
Both film and campaign cut back and forth between the two long-connected and mutually inspiring metropolises. Representing the east side of the Atlantic are Brits including Collins, the Pet Shop Boys (whose West End Girls soundtracks), Adwoa Aboah, Unknown T, and those usual Palace suspects. West side representatives shot in New York include Willem Dafoe, Precious Lee, and Lola Leon. “These are the favorite images we have ever done, and favorite video—by far,” says Palace’s Tanju.
Precious Lee
Photo: Alasdair McLellan / Courtesy of CK1 Palace
Adwoa Aboah
Photo: Alasdair McLellan / Courtesy of CK1 Palace
This fashion collaboration also notably pushes forward the form (and let’s face it, collaborations could do with a refresh) in two regards. The first is in what Tanju delicately terms a “three-way” footwear experiment that saw Klein and Palace add another protagonist to the project in Vans. The OG skate shoe brand is represented via low-top Authentics printed with another mixed-font brand Frankenstein, “CalVans.” Jordan says that the process of putting these together was typical of the entire collaboration. “We had a lot of meetings where 50% of the time was spent laughing about all the possibilities and the fun things that we could do. So when they said ‘CalVans’ we all kind of chuckled about it—and then we said, ‘actually that’s great, let’s do it.’”
Where Calvin Klein and Palace have most pushed the boundaries of collaboration through this partnership—the most radical “weird idea”—is in the creation of CK1 Palace itself. This is a new Palace-infused formulation of the original 1994-introduced CK One that was credited as the first ever unisex fragrance. “This is the first time we’ve ever done that,” says Jordan of the decision to co-create the first Palace perfume simultaneously to remixing the canon of Klein’s famous scents. “We both remembered when CK One launched and its impact… and there is also always a memory that comes with a scent. So we thought, ‘what if we can add a new twist and then introduce it to a new generation so they can have this moment that someday they can go back to?’”
The limited-edition CK1 Palace fragrance reimagines the original scent.
Photo: Alasdair McLellan / Courtesy of CK1 Palace
Tanju added: “I really wanted to do a fragrance and it was important that it was new… I’m getting a bit old now myself, but when I look at fragrance I don’t think there are many options for people like me. Maybe it’s the way they are marketed but it feels a bit like they are really dusty and aimed at people who nobody actually is.” In addition to the traditionally-chunky bathroom size flagons, CK1 Palace will be offered in smaller bottles as well in order to allow the wearer to take it out for al fresco spritzing. Blending the ironic accent of Palace with the iconic language of Calvin Klein, this collaboration is a “weird idea” whose time has come.
The collection drops on April 8 at Palace London, New York, Los Angeles, and Tokyo stores,
palaceskateboards.com and calvinklein.com
Editor
Luke LeitchCredit
Lead Image: Alasdair McLellan / Courtesy of CK1 Palace
