CALVIN KLEIN presents/ An Expansive International Landscape

CALVIN KLEIN’s first installation at Design Miami/ Basel is a unique vision of an expansive international landscape as interpreted by Chief Creative Officer Raf Simons. In line with Simons’s continued exploration of an international dialogue as filtered through an American lens, CALVIN KLEIN presents a vast open space punctuated by a freestanding American barn and a showcase of limited edition Cassina Feltri armchairs with upholstery selected by Simons.

Created by influential Italian designer Gaetano Pesce for Cassina in 1987, the Feltri armchair is an ironic take on the royal throne, melding art and functionality. It has since become an established icon and a mainstay of modern art and contemporary design collectibles. The Feltri’s thick wool felt structure is made using a specially patented technique; the backrest is soft and enveloping while the lower part, infused with thermosetting resin, is firm and durable.

An admirer of Pesce’s work, Simons approached Cassina about initiating what he refers to as a “cultural correspondence.” The result is a selection of one hundred numbered Feltri armchairs in which CALVIN KLEIN house codes are applied to the armchair’s interior upholstery. Each armchair features a one-of-a-kind Amish heirloom quilt that dates to the nineteenth or twentieth centuries, emblematic of both American heritage and a homespun, handcrafted ethos of days gone by. Armchairs numbered 1–50 are available for purchase at the fair, while the remaining 50–100 will be available for purchase through Cassina at a later date.

The barn, one of several built for the CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC Fall 2018 runway show, is reconstructed from nineteenth- century reclaimed wood. The barn’s walls are papered with billboard-scale images of artwork by Andy Warhol, part of the brand’s ongoing and multilevel partnership with the
Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.