​is raf simons collaborating with sterling ruby at calvin klein?

It's been a couple of months since Raf Simons was announced as Calvin Klein's chief creative officer and already the rumor mill is in full swing regarding a potential new collaboration with Sterling Ruby.

The American artist has been seen "regularly at Calvin Klein headquarters," Page Six reports, sparking talk of a follow-up to the pair's last collab, Raf Simons/Sterling Ruby fall/winter 14, their fourth such project since meeting in 2005.

While one source suggests that Sterling's involvement may be to assist Simons on the brand's Madison Avenue flagship — a role he previously undertook during a revamp of Raf's Tokyo store in 2008 — it wouldn't take a huge stretch of the imagination to see the artist's influence upon its clothing too. Simons is known to want to revitalize the brand's runway collections.

After Simons tapped Ruby to help create his highly-anticipated and much celebrated first collection for Dior — the artist's prints appeared in Simons's fall/winter 12 couture collection — it is certainly possible that the Belgian designer has Ruby's work in mind for his debut Calvin Klein collection, expected to be shown in the spring, for fall/winter 17.

Credits

Text Matthew Whitehouse
Photography Morgan O'Donovan